


Better Than Ever

by He11Haven



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Cock whorship, Comedy, F/F, F/M, Foursome, Jaune Betrayal story, Other, Watching, loving
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:28:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 61,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25418461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/He11Haven/pseuds/He11Haven
Summary: Commission for AnonNot your average betrayal story, Jaune might have been kicked out of Beacon for faking his papers, but he's back for the vytal festival better than ever with a bevy of beautiful women to back him up. The only question left is how everyone else will react to the once clown turned hero.[Betrayal? Shits wholesome so idk] [foursome] [blowjob] [rough sex] [loving sex] [peeping] [m/f] [f/f] [comedy]
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Lie Ren, Jaune Arc/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune arc /OC
Comments: 61
Kudos: 115





	1. Odd Socks

Odd socks - Key Frame

I’m quite happy at a mates in s-10  
While you check your filter  
Time and time again  
But you’ll just need to think about why you’re here

“Ruby…. Ruby?” Wiess pressed the coms in her ear. Nerves edging into her core looking around at the dense forest surrounding her. She’d never wanted to hear their team leader’s voice more in her life. Her fencing saber clattered in her shaking hands, looking over her shoulder and then down the path she had walked in. 

She thought for a moment she saw something, aiming her blade at it and firing a random blast of red fiery dust. Cursing herself for the spastic reaction, she was more calm and collected than that.

Weiss took in a deep breath, sliding the air through her teeth to stop the pounding of blood in her ears. She was serene, calm, zen. 

A crashing to her left made her scream a high pitched wail, looking to see the red form of her team leader flying through the air towards her in a wide arc. Weiss hardly had time to react, catching the more energetic woman before she hit the ground. 

“Ruby!” Weiss called, watching Ruby crack a single eye open and force a smile. The leader of team RWBY closed it and let her head fall back, her aura depleted and fading out in a red shimmer. “Damn it!” Weiss cursed again, setting Ruby on the ground and shakily getting to her feet. 

A crack of a branch.

Whatever got Ruby was coming closer. 

Weiss readied her sword, pointing it in that direction, breath was fast, her heart pounding all over again.

A figure moved into view. Firing off a shard of ice this time, Weiss watched the figure of a Wolf step into view, the enemy! Too bad Blake dropped down to halt the creature’s advance, the black cat faunus unaware of Weisses attack. 

The shard connected hard with her aura, shattering and knocking Blake off balance, the Wolf taking advantage of this, squatting down and sweeping the nimble cat’s leg as if they had planned the timing down to the second. Blake hit the ground hard. She only got to her hands and knees fast enough to see the flat of a rifle butt take up her entire view and then it was darkness. 

Her limp body sliding alongside the leader of her team. “Blake!” Weiss called.

“AHHHH!” Yang Roared from the treeline,

“Left!” A familiar male voice called from somewhere unseen, the wolf jumping out of the way from the bombastic blonde of team RWBY. Yang landed hard but not missing a beat and chasing after the target she missed.

“Yang wait!” Weiss called and tried to chase after her but noticed too late that the bruiser of their team was falling right into a trap. They were avoiding her, they knew about her semblance and weren’t attacking her, they were leading her. “Yang look out!”

But it was too late, “Bola!” The male voice came again and the Wolf somehow managed to twist her body out of the way so that Yang just flew over top of her, both of them falling from the sky without much control of their descent. Yang of course had her gauntlets but the second she pointed them down to redirect herself, thinking she had the wolf in her grasp, two ropes with heavy balls at the ends flew towards her through the air. 

Wrapping around her arms and legs, the blonde didn’t have the momentum to fire her weapons and instead connected hard with the ground much like Blake had. 

Yang didn’t go down that easily though, finally taking a hit, even if it was weak she managed to get off her semblance. Breaking the rope that bound her, she looked around for the wolf but instead found someone else, a pink haired girl with a bo staff, Weiss finally catching up to join her angered friend.

“Freezer burn?” Weiss asked.

“Dry ice.” Yang corrected, Weiss made a face, that plan obviously not the best.

“Freezer burn.” she insisted.

“Suit yourself then, ice queen.”

Yang dashed forward towards the girl who was already moving out of the way and deflecting the first strike of the blonde bruiser. Weiss tried too back her up but saw the wolf girl drop from the trees in front of her and forced her to step back, the wolf faunus wagging her finger and shaking her head. 

Yang tried a flurry of blows, heavy swings, jabs, sweeps. The bo staff met each one and knocked them aside like they were nothing. Her body was like air, pushed out of the way by the force of her punch but never connecting, Yang getting angrier and angrier with each missed fist. The Pink haired girl blowing a bubble of gum in Yang’s face and causing it to pop right in front of her face. “AHHHH!” Yang roared again.

“Yang cal-AH” Weiss tried to call out but found herself being pushed back by the nonchalant attacks of the wolf girl in front of her. She wasn’t even trying, just keeping Weiss from helping her teammate. 

“Stop playing with your food.” The male voice chided like he was having a good time watching the show.

The pink haired girl smirked and just shrugged at the frustrated blonde. “Sorry, sweety.” Yang throwing a heavy haymaker onto the see the error seconds after she made it, feeling the blunt end of the wooden staff connecting with her jaw and the chattering of teeth on teeth, Then blackness.

Weiss watched the last of her team members fall. Looking around at the two women who had without breaking a sweat managed to defeat the entirety of team RWBY. “So I’m last?” She growled. 

“Had to be somebody.” The male voice was behind her. “No hard feelings.” She turned around. “But someone has to win.” It was Jaune, standing beside a third beautiful woman, this one a sporting long white hair that covered most of her face and shoulders and practically touched the floor. Jaune was taller too, broader, his armour was more blue and gold than she remembered, Atlas colours.

Then he swung at her.

The fight was over without much more than that. 

The first round of the Vytal festival, over with a decisive win for the kingdom of Atlas.  
___

Yang had her face wrapped in her arms and was planted firmly against the lunchroom table. Ruby patting her back in an attempt to comfort her sister. “In the first round.” Yang moaned.

“I really wasn’t expecting that outcome.” Pyrrha offered, putting her chin in her palm, leaning on the same table as Yang. 

Team RWBY sat at the same table as their long standing friends team- well team OPRN, sounding vaguely like ‘open’. This team was made up of Pyrrha Nikos, Lia Ren, Nora Valkyrie and the replacement member, Orion Genz. Ever since Jaune was outed for faking his transcript the newest member of the team had been this orange haired kid who wasn;t actually at the table currently, he was off getting drinks for his team. See one of the reasons they didn’t like this new addition was, well because many now referred to their team as team ‘PORN’ which they loathed with a passion. 

The other reason.

“Pyrrha!” The orange haired boy, broken glasses taped back together, and despite his average build seemed to be too large for his brain to keep up, knocked into a table and nearly threw someone’s food on the ground by mistake. He hurried over to his team with his arms full of different bottled sports drinks. “I didn’t know what you’d want, so I got one of everything.”

“Oh… Gee… Wow.” Pyrrha looked at the display of awkward affection with all of the discomfort of someone being eaten by a beowulf. Her other two teammates rolled their eyes at the all too common display. “You shouldn’t have. Really… really shouldn’t have.” 

At least this display managed to get Yang out of her stupor. Snickering at the clueless fanboy all too infatuated by the gladiator redhead. “Anything for my team leader!” He announced proudly. 

“Oh.. That’s… really, really fine.” She affirmed. Looking at the collection of sports drinks and genuinely terrified to pick one for fear Orion would see and she’d wake up to one every single morning and never be able to have another flavour the rest of her time on this team. “So, about that fight, please, anything else.”

“It was bizarre.” Blake murmured. “They knew what we were going to do before we did it.” She shook her head.

“Jaune was giving orders, he was leading us into traps.” Weiss commented. “He knew exactly what we’d do.” Her heavy sigh was felt by everyone at the table besides Orion who had the most clueless expression.

“Who’s Jaune?” He asked.

“The fight we just had.” Yang looked at him like he was an idiot. His blank expression. “The guy you’re going up against in round 2?” Another dead pan. “The guy who you replaced?”

Again there was nothing going on behind those eyes but the orange haired kid did speak up. “I really only watch fight’s Miss Nikos is in, I’ve never watched anyone else fight.”

“Well that’s creepy.” Weiss murmured “Stalker much?” All words under her breath.

“When did Jaune get so good at fighting?” Ruby groaned, rubbing one of the bruises on her ribs.

“He was training directly under General Ironwood. he’s the greatest tactician on Remnant.” Weiss shrugged. “It’s still so weird that Jaune got scouted by Atlas though, I never would have thought Ironwood would take an interest in him of all people.”

“I guess it was warranted.” Blake commented.

“God I wanna punch that guy!” Yang growled.

“You might get your chance.” Ruby pointed, looking towards the cafeteria doors that opened up to see the team which beat them walk in. Jaune Arc and three beautiful women that walked with him entering Beacon for the first time since he was kicked out for faking his papers.

“Did I do good? I really handed it to that ice queen, did I? She didn’t see your plan coming at all, I did good right?” The Wolf faunus acting more like a puppy, excitedly looking at her team leader with her heavy, long tail wagging back and forth happily gazing up at him. Her fur was black and gray, mostly just looking like she had long, extremely thick hair coming off of her head but the two triangular ears coming off of her head instead of normal human ones, on top of the tail made her heritage clear. She had pale windburned skin with bright blue eyes, large wolf like teeth and had a very athletic form, muscular with wide hips and a perfect round ass that bounced with each of her excited steps. She wasn’t the bustiest but had an ass it was near impossible to beat. 

“You did great.” Jaune assured her. “Here, try some ramen, it’s on me.” The wolf looking positively delighted at the idea. “Get me a bowl too, I’m just going to check in for our next match I’ll be right there.”

“You baby her too much.” The pink haired girl, snow white skin, chided. She wore tight short short cut off jeans with the pockets sticking out the ends. Her baggy long black t-shirt hung perfectly off her lithe frame, even if it did bag around her sizable bust that forced it’s loose fitting to bend into all manner of odd shapes. She had headphones around her neck and some pop-heavy bass remix could be heard thumping in the speakers. Her pink hair was cut short and pulled back into a tight small bun at the back of her head, with cut bangs forming a line on her forehead that gave her a put together pop-star look. “But ramen does sound good.”

“I’ll make sure we save a bowl for you.” The third in his team was a tall woman, taller than most men here actually, spoke up. She was curvy, stacked like an hourglass with sand on both ends, her tits were massive, easily passing G-cup to the point looking at her it was hard to imagine she could even find something to fit her. It didn’t look off with her body, a pleasant plush amount of healthy fat clinging to the huntress muscle that outlined her arms and waist. Her wide hips and thick thighs made every part of her look comfortable even if her stature and obvious strength gave her the impression of a goliath bruiser. Her long white hair was pulled back behind her head and was currently braided into a tight french style tail that still got down to around her butt. She Radiated a motherly energy and even as they walked, kept a hang on Jaune to make sure she knew where he was at all times. 

“Thank you, I’ll be along soon, start without me, I’ll catch up.” He assured them, waving to the remaining two members before walking towards a nearby computer. 

“Jaune!” Ruby called over to him, waving her small hand in his direction. 

He paused. Looking at the gathering. Pyrrha held her breath, she hadn’t seen or heard from him until he suddenly showed up at the Festival and now with his new team, she had so many feelings about what happened, how he left, she hadn’t prepared. 

“This is the guy?” Orion asked skeptically. 

Jaune looked at them and for a second there was no recognition. Pyrrha felt her heart sink, that was honestly the worst reaction she could have hoped for, anger was better than that. Then it clicked and it was like he hadn’t seen them in ten years, let alone six months. Like they had been passing coworkers or classmates, not teammates. 

“I barely recognised you guys. Sorry I couldn’t see you from back there.” That was a lie but he played it off well. “That was a good fight!” He complimented.

“Hardly.” Blake scoffed. “You slaughtered us.” Jaune just awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, trying to laugh it off but it was clear there was a lot of tension there.

“What she means to say-” Weiss interjected. “How did you do it?”

“How did I beat you guys?” Jaune’s face flushed a little, he wasn’t sure how to put it and honestly having so much attention put on him was a little embarrassing. Pyrrha couldn’t help but think he looked adorable, her heart throbbing in her chest. “I Watch some new recordings of your past fights, studied up before the match.” He shrugged, that was obvious, pretty much everyone was doing that. “After that, I knew you worked in pairs, matching together support types and attack types. So as long as I kept Yang from Blake and Weiss from Ruby, we had the upper hand, you’d be focusing on finding each other instead of fighting.”

It was pretty blunt, and team RWBY couldn’t argue, it was a glaring weakness that they were dependent on each other. Their training was based around teamwork and all of their strength lie in the person next to them. It was harsh to think that was a weakness though. 

“It really isn’t that bad of a thing, teamwork is how you win things like this, but not having a backup plan for being split, and not expecting someone to separate you makes it really easy to exploit weaknesses.” Jaune sounded a lot like Ironwood, Weiss thought. From what she remembered of him from Atlas.

“Atlas is really treating you well.” Ruby commented. 

“Yeah.” He said with a certain fondness, his gaze trailing away back over to his team, Pyrrha couldn’t help but feel a deep pulling in her gut, guilt welling up inside her. “I gotta say, I didn’t think I’d like military school, but Atlas gave me a second chance.” Weiss and Pyrrha both had a hard time looking at him. “I guess it was my own fault, I shouldn’t have faked my transcripts, when Cardin got me kicked out, it might have been the best thing that ever happened to me.”

It wasn’t Cardin though, Pyrrha wanted to say, but shame kept her mouth shut. She wanted to reach out and grab him, never let him go, tell him she was sorry and ask for him to come back.

But he didn’t hate her, he hated Cardin. She couldn’t say anything because of so many different conflicting feelings of guilt welling up in her comparably small frame. 

“Gotta say it’s good to see you all again, I haven’t been that great at keeping in touch, sorry about that.” His face turning towards his old team, giving them an apologetic and embarrassed nod. 

“No really, we should have been trying harder too!” Nora was the one speaking up and Pyrrha just wanted to punch her in the gut, she wanted to get out of this without so much as having to look at Jaune let alone talk to him.

Pyrrha couldn’t help it, looking at him now, shoulders back, standing upright. She had to agree with Ruby, atlas did Jaune a lot of good. He was handsome, stronger, more confident and in control, he looked sure of himself and had a charm to the bashful humility he still wore. Like he could still remember what it was like to be awkward and shy, still felt like he was ‘the nobody’ even though he was the fan favorite and most likely to win the festival’s big tournament. The only real competition was team RWBY and herself. Her heart fluttered with the way his eyes crinkled, the way dimples formed in his cheeks when he smiled.

“Hey, I Should get back to my team-”

“No need.” The first of a line of girls, Jaune’s team, interrupted him. The pink haired girl waved at him and stepped up beside him. Then the white haired girl, then the wolf, who waddled up by Blake. The cat’s hair standing on end as she recoiled from the other beastly woman. The pink woman continued. “Hey, good fight today B.T.Dubs, we don’t normally have fights that hard.”

Her voice made it sound like an insult, her overall demeanor, lazy and annoyed with the cadence of someone who would rather be anywhere else. But there was a reluctant honesty to her words that made it clear she had some respect for the team even if they really hadn’t put up much of a fight. Which honestly made her statement even more sad, if team RWBY really had put up the most substantial fight, they really did have no competition going all the way to the top, did they? 

“Thanks?” Yang said, though it was more of a question than a response.

“So you’re Jaune’s old team? What was he like?” The wolf girl practically knocked over Blake’s drink leaning over the table, everyone getting an eyeful of her button up shirt trying to hold her tits back from bursting out. She was looking pointedly at Pyrrha with that question but seemed to be asking everyone and no one in particular.

“How about introductions first?” Jaune pulled her back by her collar, the girl choking back another question before she got to ask it. Jaune, slightly annoyed at how forward his new teammate was. “Sorry everyone, she’s not used to so many people.”

Wiggling out of his grasp, they waited patiently for each of both Beacon teams to introduce themselves, though when it came to Pyrrha it was actually the pink haired girl who introduced her. “I’m actually from Argos too, I was in the class behind you. Harpy.” She introduced herself. She raised an eyebrow with a challenging smirk. “It will be an honour to finally test myself against ‘Argoses best’.” She snickered.

Next to the pink haired Harpy, the white haired girl actually got introduced by Weiss. “Amellia Pale, your father used to be on the Atlas council, he was the one who fought for faunus unionization to become legal.”

Blake actually perked up at that, ignoring the dog in her midst. “You’re that Pale? Your father was a personal inspiration for me.” 

The white haired woman, even for her size, blushed and covered her cheeks like a schoolgirl. “I have big shoes to fill, my father is a great man.” She agreed. “I’m actually here to advocate for faunus worker’s rights while I’m fighting.”

“That’s amazing!” Yang had a bright smile on her face. Jaune looking on with a bright smile of his own, happy the girls were getting along. Yang elbowed Blake and pointed towards her. “You were starting a petition, you should get her to sign.”

“AND I’M AMBER GOLD!” The Wolf Faunus said proudly, interrupting everyone, they stared for just a second.

“I’d love to.” Pale nodded eagerly, returning to the conversation before Amber burst in.

Jaune looked at the orange haired boy sitting a little too close to Pyrrha for her comfort and held out his hand. “Hey, I’m Jaune, we haven’t met before.”

Orion just looked at the hand and turned his nose up at it. Eyeing the blonde boy with suspicion. “I’ve heard of you though, the guy who cheated to get in.”

“Whoa, Orion.” Nora looked offended, which she wasn’t alone in, if looks could kill Jaune’s entire team would have murdered the boy on the spot with a single glance. Even the normally calm and bashful Pale was grinning with barely restrained murderous intent. 

“What? I’m right.” The boy protested, Pyrrha just putting her face in her hands. 

“You didn’t have to bring it up, that’s so shitty, dude.” Yang protested but honestly it was Jaune who stopped her.

Jaune sighed, putting his hands in the air. “Honestly he’s right, I mean, come on.” He looked over at his old team, then over his shoulder towards team RWBY. “Are we going to pretend what I did was right? I lied, cheated, I got kicked out, it was what I deserved.” Then looking back at Orion. “I made a mistake and I’m trying to make up for it, try not to hold it against me.” Then looking behind him to the three women standing close by. “Besides I wouldn’t have met my team without that mistake, I should own it, be better for them.”

All three members of his team were touched, Pale and Amber looked like they were about to cry and even Harpy looked away so no one would see water forming at the corner of her eyes. “Jaune~” Amber’s voice wavered, emotion welling up in her.

Pyrrha couldn’t help but feel sick, seeing how happy he was, she was happy for him, and jealous, and angry, and ashamed. She just wanted to die and it didn’t help that her ‘partner’ was being such an asshole and making such a big scene about this. 

Then he started speaking again and Pyrrha was ready to murder him. “Well, I have to say, I should be thanking you, I never would have been on the same team as Pyrrha without you.” The orange haired brat looked so fucking proud of himself pyrhha wanted to scream.

“So you’re her partner, you’re lucky she’s a great person, incredibly talented.” Jaune agreed. It was hard not to notice the pink haired girl snicker at that comment.

“Of course I know that, she’s the best partner anyone could ask for.” He agreed. Which got more than a few eyerolls from the present company.

“Jaune we should probably get back, we need to eat before we -train-.” Harpy put a certain emphasis on the word that made it seem important but mostly innocuous. “It was good to..” She looked at Orion. “Well it was good to meet most of you.”

“The pleasure is all ours.” Pale agreed.

“We should play again sometime!” Amber encouraged. Which only made Blake shiver and shrink further into her seat. 

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, she was still staring at him, their eyes met for the first time and even though not a single word this whole meeting had passed between them, it was suddenly like he never left. She wanted to reach out and kiss him, to pull him close and cry, tell him she was sorry, that she never should have been stupid, thinking she was following rules, that she just wanted him back, wanted him back more than anything.

“It was good seeing you again.” His words were drawn, low careful, then to everyone. “It was good seeing everyone, and meeting you.” The last line to Orion who scoffed at him. Then they were gone, walking away and out of her life again.

Team rwby wasn’t far off, also leaving after a curt goodbye, needing to do some homework. Pyrrha couldn’t help but look on after him, watching Jaune laugh and smile with his new team, a team that cared about him, stood by him, loved him. She wanted to cry, wanted to lay down and give into that sadness welling up in her gut.

“I just don’t see the hype.” Orion grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“OH my gods! Orion shut the fuck up!” Pyrrha roared at him, causing most of the nearby tables to look over.

“You tell him Team PORN!” a snarky voice called out from the crowd.

“Shut up Cardin! Or I’ll fuck your dad and ground you!” Nora threatened, which was weird enough that he didn’t dare respond.

Pyrrha storming off from the Lunchroom. A concerned and confused Jaune looking at her as she left. Thinking about following her until he felt a hand on his shoulder, Amber looking at him with an equal amount of concern. He smiled reassuringly for her, keeping with his team, keeping with the girls who had helped him so much since his time at Beacon, his friends, his family.

________

What was she doing? WHAT WAS SHE DOING?

Pyrrha was walking with a purpose, only to stop herself and turn around, then stop again and make a mess of her normally perfect red hair. She was pacing back and forth in the visitor’s dorm. She had come here to apologise, come clean and clear her conscious. If he hated her that would be easier than all this guilt.

But she couldn’t bring herself to actually knock on his door, or even go to the right floor. Panic washed over her like waves on a beach, every time she thought it was receding and she could move, it would come back with a passion and leave her knees weak with fear. She let out a pained sound and shut her eyes tight, trying to work up the courage to finally come clean about her dark deed. 

“Pyrrha?” Terrified it might be Jaune the red head turned around to instead spot Weiss walking up towards her, an equally tentative look on her features.

They were here for the same reason.

“Weiss… Yo- what are you doing here?” Trying to play dumb at least for now. 

“I…” Weiss’s calm and stoic demeanour wavered, that wall of ice coming down with a heavy sigh. “I wanted to apologise to Jaune.” There was a long pause, like pyrrha was wondering why she possibly felt guilty about this. “When he got kicked out, Ruby said we should help him, do something, but I talked her out of it, well we all did. But Jaune liked me, was infatuated with me, not that I blame him, but I reasoned that if we had contact with him and the teachers found out, we would get in trouble.” She let out a long, heavy sigh, letting that weight off her shoulders. “We should have stuck up for him, he was our friend, but when he reached out for me, I blocked his scroll, had Ruby and Yang do it too.”

Blake of course couldn’t be tamed and they had no idea if she blocked him or not, but since Jaune said he hadn’t talked to anyone, it was pretty clear that she had.

Pyrrha gave her a sympathetic look, no doubt the ice queen thought she was here for the same reason, little did the heiress know that she wasn’t. It was nice to have someone here for moral support though, even if her original sin would be laid bare, it was probably best all of her friends saw the depth of her betrayal. 

The two women walked up towards his proper floor finally.

Each step talking longer and longer

As seconds dragged on towards minutes and felt like hours.

His room in sight, they steeled their nerves. Pyrrha walked up first and brought up her hand to wrap her knuckles against the door. 

“Jaaaauuunnneeee~” Amber’s voice rang out in a low needy whine. Easily heard by the two women on the other side of the normally thick and soundproof door. The two women noticed that the door was slightly ajar, it looks like they latched their lock and then closed the door on it, propping the portal to their room open stuck.

They heard the many sounds of movement on the other side, both women looking at each other before silently agreeing they would only peer through to make sure it wasn’t a bad time to talk to him. Their eyes leering through the small crack in the door to spot the folded out bed and spotting Jaune’s mostly naked frame sitting on the it’s plush cushion and leaning back. His shirt was open, hanging loose around his shoulders the the well defined chisel of his well worked body on full display, though his lower half was obscured by a desk between the door and them they could imagine the lines of his abs leading towards the hem of his jeans in that perfect deep V.

“Jaauuunnnee~” Amber whimpered again, which finally got Jaune’s attention, looking up from the scroll in his lap and looking to the girl out of their view. “Distracted today, aren’t you?” She snickered. “Thinking about your old team?”

“Can you Blame him?” Pale, also out of view countered.

“It was just nice to see them, you aren’t jealous, are you Amber?” He chuckled, leaning back and letting out a satisfied sigh. Letting his eyes slide shut. Pyrrha wondered if he and the wolf faunus were dating, they seemed close, and the wolf was by every stretch of the imagination attractive. 

“Of course I am! Your old friends were a Schnee heiress and Pyrrha mother fucking Nikos.” She grumbled. “That’s a pretty high bar.”

“She’s the best partner anyone could ask for.” Harpy quoted. Lifting her head from Jaune’s lap and wiping the edge of her mouth. Pale coming into view with her chest on full display and pushing her plush, soft tits against Jaune’s face.

Weiss let out a soft little gasp, Pyrrha resisting that temping urge. He wasn’t looking at his scroll, she realized with a sudden sick feeling. She was peeping even if unintentionally at something very private. Though she couldn’t pull her eyes away from it.

“If you really believe that, maybe you don’t need us anymore~” Harpy teased, stroking his cock with her off hand, it still slick and wet with her sloppy idle blowjob. Trailing her nails over the vascular length of his impressive manhood, opting to tease him instead of properly trying to get him off. 

Jaune let out a small desperate noise. “Harp, are you telling me you didn’t get wet thinking about me fucking Pyrrha in front of you?” The normally passive aggressive, couldn’t care less girl let out a little whimper of desire at that. Pyrrha couldn't help but echo the sentiment. “You got so wet you were practically dripping when we got back.” 

“You’re too mean to her.” Pale chided, running her fingers through his hair. She watched the subtle sway and weight to each long strand of his golden mane, she just seemed to content herself in the idle physical affection of passing movements and the warmth of his naked body against hers. Not like Harpy who seemed irritated that he wasn’t forcing her to choke on his cock, using all of his might to break her on his spear.

“I know I’m better than that slut.” Harpy remarked, bringing an odd little spike of jealousy and arousal from Pyrrha that made her wonder why she liked hearing herself be called a slut. “Better than that bimbo redhead, better than that skinny asian, better than the ice queen schnee cunt too.” All the while she was talking, lavishing Jaune’s proud member with the sides and length of her tongue.

Jaune didn’t seem to be arguing, leaning back on the mattress and deeper into the lovely cleavage of the Atlas beauty behind him. Though he did push down Harpy’s head so that cock slid into her throat, making her gag and retch hands pounding instinctively at his thighs. Her body shuddering at the sudden and forceful intrusion. 

It was a rough movement. One that made her head jerk forward, his length breaking the threshold from her mouth to throat, seeking the tight seal around his rigid member.

Even if counter to the indignity she held on tighter and seemed to melt at the rough treatment, loving the way he used her throat for his own pleasure. “We should really clean out that dirty mouth of yours.” Jaune groaned, loving the way she showed him just how filthy she could be with her sloppy wet lips. She greedily tried to take in as much of his cock as she could, feeling it bend down the back of her throat and feeling the tight orifice swell at the invading girth. “I don’t know why you talk so much, your mouth isn’t good for anything besides sucking cock.”

“You’re so rough with her.” Pale commented with a lust filled drawl. Though anyone looking could tell Harpy was having the time of her life, eyes rolling up into her head with a stupid, cock hungry smile plastered over her lips still wrapped tightly around his cock. Her hands grabbing his waist and pulling him deeper into her, even if her nose was pressed up against his shaved pubic mound.

“She likes it, like a good little slut, she knows her place is taking my cock.” Jaune assured the large woman, taking one hand off of the woman’s head who was sucking his length, lips pulling back only to smush hard against the base of its girth, to touch tenderly the jawline of the woman behind him. “Unless you’re jealous too.” He murmured, pulling her close, drawing her towards his face as he looked back, kissing her with a softness that contrasted to heavily with the brutal throat fucking he was giving the woman between his legs.

When their lips parted, a single strand of saliva still connected their intertwining pink organs, drooping under its own weight before snapping before their very eyes. She blushed, a shy little thing, even if she was already naked and pressed tightly against him, it seemed that kissing might be too much for the white haired milf look alike.

“You know I am.” She looked away from him, words shaking with embarrassment. “I’m always jealous when my sweet boy looks at a woman who isn’t me.”

“Even Amber or Harp?” Jaune asked, a coy little note to this voice.

“Mmm you know not them.” Her hand reaching down to push back Harpy’s bangs revealing her lidded, drunken eyes lost in the taste of her own throat slobber along his sloppy thick meat. “I love them just as much as I love you.” her nose lifting up his chin, kissing the crux of his neck, teeth and tongue playing the soft sensitive skin. “You’re my wonderful, sweet, sexy boy. I never want to let another woman take you away from us.”

Jaune couldn’t help but laugh, the sultry note tuning towards a deep, appreciative moan for her practiced efforts. 

Though there was one girl he hadn’t been paying attention to and she was done waiting. Amber straddled him, getting in the way of his eyeline on Harpy. The pink haired masochist getting a wonderful view of the naked wolf girl’s perky taunt butt. “Jaaaunnne~” She mewled again. “ We love to share, you with girls, with guys. But you love us right?”

Her lips pressed to his, mixing with the taste of Pale still on his tongue. God’s she tasted sweet, her thick tongue so much rougher than a humans. 

Amber pulled back all too soon, jaune not getting a chance to explore her mouth, drink her in properly. “I’m still better than that top heavy blonde we fought against, right? Right master? I did good, I’m a good girl, aren’t I?” 

His smile crinkled even wider, looking at the large sparkling eyes of his little ‘pet’. Amber always needed an extra amount of love, just like Harpy loved a little extra pain. The latter of the two girls enjoying very much when Amber lowered down until her own wet folds brushed against her pretty face, Harpy loving the degrading feeling of someone just using her like a toy, all the while she tried even harder to get Jaune’s attention with her tongue alone. 

Luckily he didn’t waver, bringing his hand not on Harpy’s head, wrapped in Amber’s hair, up to scratch at the spot right behind her ear giving her all the love attention she wanted. Within his limited restraints. “Of course, I love you, you’re such a good, good girl.” His voice was low, sultry and gravely but had a softer tone to it to make sure she knew she really was his good, pretty girl. “I love all of you so much, I’d never want anyone else.” He assured her.

“You guys never act like this when we’re scouting other ‘toys’” He mentioned curiously. His hand trailing down amber’s head, down her back, grabbing a handful of her soft plush ass. “They didn’t get under your skin did they?”

Pale’s hands stopped on his chest, stopped roaming over the subtle curves of each muscle. “Well it is Pyrrha Nikos…” She mulled over.

Jaune couldn’t help but scoff, even if the sound did muffle into a moan. 

Pyrrha was practically dripping now, the only reason she wasn’t touching herself at the, ironically wet, torrid display, was because Weiss was right next to her. The white haired Schnee glued with equal desire and dread as she was to the view just beyond the slightly cracked door.

Jaune was more interested in the women around him, than the ghosts of memories he’d push away a long time ago. Instead he pulled back on Harpy’s short pink hair, pulling her off his length even as her tongue reached out to keep him in. Her face still a smeared mess of drool and precum, looking up to see him slowly lower amber onto his now well lubed cock. Both of the girls giving low desperate mewls of pleasure, even if Harpy’s was less satisfied. Amber took him with a practiced ease, arching her back so that his rigid length pressed hard against the silken walls of her tight entrance. 

He was practically dripping with her honey as each inch lowered into her, she was so wet and desperate for him, loved the way he slid into her with care, held her close, made her feel safe and loved. Arms wrapping around him, fingers in his hair, claws on his back, she clenched down on him, ready for a night of slow passionate fucking from her master. “Mmmm, fuck master, you’re so big inside me~” She mewled directly into the dish of his ear.

“You guys are worried about Pyrrha?” He groaned, feeling Amber tighten up around him, slowly starting to grind her hips back and forth on him, small little motions. The other girls staying back, knowing how much Amber loved being close to someone at the beginning. “You really have nothing to worry about.” He assured them.

“Honestly you should all be thanking her.” There was a dark edge to his words that made pyrrha’s heart sink. “Afterall, without her getting me kicked out, I never would have met all of you.” His hand came up to run through Amber’s long, thick black hair, getting lost in the tangled weaving locks. 

Pyrrha’s breath stopped, her heart thundering at the back of her skull, her mind was empty, eyes wild. Weiss turned her head to look at the stunned redhead. “So when you break her in, at least be kind about it.” His words carried a dark promise that pyrrha couldn’t help feel her core twist at. 

Pale let out a little soft laugh, leaning forward and taking Amber by the cheeks, kissing her teammate with a love and passion the shivering wolf girl desperately needed, her hips flying back and forth on Jaune’s impressively thick meat. The two women making horribly lewd sounds right next to Jaune’s still damp ear, dripping with amber’s saliva. Amber might be possessive of her master but she had a soft spot for her teammates, willing to share if she needed to. 

The white haired affluent breaking the kiss and leaving the tender wolf girl to shiver on her master’s length. She pressed the side her head against Jaune’s, watching Amber ride him from his own point of view. Pale finally spoke “I’m so torn, such vile women, did such good things for us.”

Harpy was the next on the bandwagon, pressing soft little kisses against Jaune’s honey soaked balls, lapping up Amber’s sweet juices as they trickled over his heavy sack. “Fucking dumb sluts, All of them so horny for your dick the second they realize what we saw all along. What though, they couldn’t even call to make sure you were okay? Fuck em, they don’t deserve this amazing cock.” 

Her tongue rolling over each of his swollen orbs, rolling his cumtanks over her fingers, her nails. She worshiped him like the god of pleasure she genuinely thought he was. Harpy growled defensively when her lips wrapped around one of his heavenly nuts, pulling it into her maw with a healthy, desperate vacuum suck.

“M-mine, Ah-ah, shit- ah-all mine~” Amber managed to stutter out. “M-my master, my love~” 

“You have to share with the rest of us.” Pale chided, pressing her ample chest flat against Jaune’s muscular back. “You’re right though, we should really thank them, they were stupid enough to turn their back on you. Let me make it up to you my good boy, let me make you feel better~.”

“Pa-Pale, let him cum in me, p-puh-pwease, I need it~” Amber groaned, words muffled by her teeth digging into his shoulder.

Jaune was letting out soft little strained groans of pleasure, between gritted teeth, Harpy sucking his balls mixed with the sensation of amber’s tight cunt squeezing down on him, left his mind foggy and voice strained. “I have to admit, I hated them for a while, sure.” Jaune muttered, pressing his lips to amber’s ear, kissing her softly. “Really did, fantasized about coming back here and breaking them all in one by one. Letting you hunt them down and return them like gifts.” Amber let out a little desperate moan, she’d do it too, if he gave the order she’d find someone, seduce them, break them in and bring them crawling on hands and knees to please her master. She’d do anything for Jaune, anything at all. 

“Let Harpy push them down on my length until they were choking.” The pink haired slut groaning around his shaft. He looked back at Pale but the woman didn’t have a malicious bone in her body. “You’d just like to watch, wouldn’t you?” Pale only smiled, kissing his neck again, nodding against the soft texture of his flesh.

“But really, I owe them everything. I’d still be stuck as the creeper, the joke, the wimp I was back then. Gotta admit, I should really thank Pyrrha for dumping me like last week's trash, ended up way better than I ever was at Beacon.” His voice was louder now, like he wanted someone in the other room to hear.

“That’s just cruel Jaune, she’s dripping out there.” Pale said, kissing the line of his jaw, “I can feel how badly they want it, it’s making me so wet I can hardly stand it.”

Pyrrha and Weiss both frooze, looking at each other and then back at the lewd sight before them. Jaune was looking right at the door now, Amber still riding his cock with equal vigor. “Pale can sense aura.” Jaune called out. “Her semblance lets her feel the emotions of people around her and sense their aura as a result. So feel free to enjoy the show, it’s the least I can do for all you did to help me get here.”

Harpy growled. “Forget about them, I want to taste it, I want to watch it spill out, come on you promised.”

Pyrrha and Weiss were statues affixed to the frame of the door, unable to move with the revelation of these events. They weren’t spying on a mistakenly open door, this was a gift, this was a message. They were here to watch and take in this message, let them see they regardless of pride or guilt, regardless of want or desire, they weren’t a part of his life, he didn’t need them.

Jaune could hardly deny the desires of his team, pushing up to meet each of Amber’s hungry thrusts, their hips slapping together with the meaty slapping of skin connecting against skin, wet shlorping sounds of his coock pistoning in and out of her wet cunny, dripping need onto the face of their other teammate, waiting impatiently for their reward, the reward they got for winning.

Then one final thrust, his balls slapping upwards into the plush ass of his faunus friend. His cock swelling inside her cumvien surging with the heavy, potent load he let out into the depths of her tight cunt. Harpy watched with unrestrained glee, looking at her friend get filled with a ludicrous amount of sweet juicy spunk. 

When she knew that the wolf couldn’t take much more she closed her eyes, pushing her face forward and presenting it for the price she had worked so hard for.

Jaune pulled back, his still raging hard cock slipping free from the death grip her pussy had on him, slapping harpy on the face and causing the masochistic slut to moan desperately at the sensation, only flinching slightly at the point of impact. Then the dribbling stream of cum spilling out of Amber’s post-orgasm tingling cunt, joining the mixture of fluids all over Harpy’s cute, pop-star face. 

“Mmmmm!” she moaned, biting her lip and loving the feeling of spent jizz covering her pretty features.

Amber laid back peacefully against the mattress, laying limpy beside her master, her partner, Jaune. “Maaassssttterrrr~” her words nuat more than a sultry, satisfied moan.

Watching the two women in a blissful trance at the mere presence of Jaune’s cum, Weiss couldn’t help but wonder what it tasted like, felt like, Harpy seemed to savour each droplet that fell into her hanging maw, leaning forward to lick and clean off his monstrous cock. Pyrrha was already throwing caution to the wind, pressing her fingers to the light fabric of her panties under the skirt of her battle outfit.

“Clean her up, Pale. If you would be so kind.” Jaune murmured, leaning forward so the larger woman could get out from behind him. Her curvy, thick frame easily gliding out from his back, even if the plush feeling of her tits flesh with his back was greatly missed. She planted down beside her teammate, her partner, Harpy.

Even though the pink haired girl recoiled from the touch, skittered away from the tongue that pressed against her cheek. She didn’t want to lose the feeling of his spunk on her visage, didn’t want pale to steal the taste and texture she claimed for herself. Pale rolling her eyes and leaning back, crossing her arms under her massive bust, pushing the heavy set orbs of titlfesh even farther to the forefront. 

Jaune wasn’t standing for the defiant display, they both knew Pale’s request was to baby them, wanted to be their caretaker. There was a heavy crack, flesh hitting flesh. Harpy recoiling from the heavy impact of his palm against her cheek.

It was savage enough that Weiss and Pyrrha had both wondered if they should step in. It wasn’t a playful hit, wasn’t a sexy little slap. Tears formed at the corners of Harpy’s eyes. 

If it wasn’t for the sharp intake of breath followed by a deep throaty “Fuuuuck~” Flowing from her lips like sweet honeyed wine, they would have stepped in. “Daddy, you hit me so sweet~” Biting her lip it was like a switch was flipped, her blown out eyes looking up at him with adoration, teeth digging into her lower lip enough that she left little red marks in the mess of lip gloss. “Showing off for that skank outside?”

Another hard slap across her face, hair splaying out across her features. The two peeps had never seen Jaune ever be rough like this with anyone, even when he fought there was never this strength, this presence, this aggression. It was terrifying, but Weiss couldn’t help but admit she was dripping.

Which was only marginally less than Harpy was going through, arching her back and quivering, her panties actually dripping, she let out a small whimpered cry of pleasure, or pain, it was hard to tell. But what was clear was the pink haired girl had cum hard, hard enough that the foggy look in her eyes made it clear how mushy her brain was. “Daddy~!” She groaned.

“Pale.” It was a simple command but the white haired girl obeyed the order without hesitation, looking up at him with a loving, tender gaze as she kissed the two red impact points, licking her friend’s face clean, his cum and her tears. Slurping up the salty mixture with a vigor that betrayed how much she liked this. All the while keeping leveled, lidded eye contact with her sweet boy. 

It was hard to take his eyes off the wonderful sight, even harder still when Harpy started to get into it, pressing her cumstained lips against the mature looking woman across from her. Tongues pulling and fighting for the mess of creamy jizz getting cleaned off her visage. “Good girls.” Jaune moaned, stroking his still slick cock slowly with his off hand, enjoying the show. “Finally getting along.”

His chuckling tone turned sour, or rather shattered like brittle glass, turning into a deep groan of pleasure, pale leaving her job sucking spunk from her friend’s face to kiss the kip of his member with such delicacy and grace it was honestly her harsh breath on the head which contrasted to make him wince. “Harpy I think Jaune’s gotten a little too high on that horse, do you think he’s showing off? Maybe we should show them we aren’t so easily pushed around.”

“Speak for yourself, I came already, Jaune can push me around any day.” Harpy remarked with annoyance, maybe hoping he’d hit her again. But she did get up behind her friend to help assist.

“Same here, use me, master~” Limply, Amber raised her hand to signal she was with Harpy, Jaune knew exactly how to treat her.

“Then I guess you don’t want to help me milk that juicy cum out of his balls and watch him cum all over my face?”

“Can’t feel legs.” Amber groaned.

“I didn’t say that and never would. That’s slander and I resent it.” Harpy groaned, following her partner’s lead and heft the heavy, squishy mounds of chest fat up into the air. Her absolutely stunning tits on full display for jaune’s mouth watering pleasure. 

Her wobbly tits landed perfectly on Jaune’s lap, both of them rivaling anyone on his team, Nora and Yang, the most heavy set, were a little over half her size, while Weiss and Pryyha couldn’t even hope to match the weight or sheer size. She was proud of these funbags, knowing that Jaune loved the way they jiggled when their weight rested on his thighs. “Now ask nicely.”

“God damn.” He breathed.

“That’s not nicely.” Her murmuring voice a hawty sure of herself sultry note that rang through his head with resonance. 

“Fuck~” He growled, leaning back onto his elbows and looking down the rows of abs towards the heavely line of cleavage his cock was pointed desperately towards. Pyrrha wanted to watch him fuck her tits, she realized, she wanted to watch him cum all over her tits and paint her white. “I’m dying here.” He moaned, but she gave no leeway. “Please, come on, Pale. Make me feel good.”

“There’s some pretty words from a pretty boy. Harpy would you like to help me?” Pale smirked, knowing Harpy loved this, using someone like a tool to get her ‘daddy’ off. Harpy’s hands wrapped around her partner’s tits, grabbing them with her fingers sinking into the ungodly amount of titflesh attached to her chest. Wrapping those amazing pillows around the stiff rod between his legs, enveloping his length in soft velvety flesh.

They were so tight, pushed together by foriegn hands, moving in partners more akin to a handjob just twice as effective. Hiss cock was gone, disappearing between the unrealistically large tits. Pale took so much pride in the wincing noises of pleasure he gave off, the way his back arched and he slid further down the bed onto his back. Her hands came up under her passive tits, grabbing onto and fondling the saliva sticky balls with the delicate touch of her soft palms. Rolling them over with her fingers and applying just enough pressure to keep him on the edge.

“Are you close, baby? Are you going to let it all out all over my tits?” Pale’s lusty jessica rabbit style voice filling the room with dripping depraved tones. She had that kind of mature dirty talking voice that made women question their sexuality and make men very sure of theirs, she even let her hair fall over one eye to completely the effect. “Come on, sweet boy, show me I’ve been a good girl, paint my tits white with the salty delicious cum~”

Jaune letting his head roll back, the overwhelming, mind bending pleasure making his legs coil and twist to try and ease out that growing tension in his body. Feeling another heavy load building between his legs. “Oh Fuc-”

He got cut off by the buzzing of a scroll, his scroll, going off on the coffee table next to the four of them. All stopping for a second and looking at it. “Think It’s another noise complaint?” Harpy groaned, getting up and with shaky legs and mascara running down her pretty safe she grabbed the scroll. “Yellow?”

“Hey what about me?” Jaune groaned, a little desperation in his voice.

“Don’t worry, master, I’m here to take care of you.” Amber getting on top of him, planting her wide, wobbly ass directly on his face, leaning forward so that her breasts pressed against the larger set of Pale’s. Both of them flesh against each other with the twitching and sensitive truncheon of cock meat they were so familiar with.

“Jaune?” The voice from the other side of the scroll made Weiss perk up. It was Yang. “Oh, Hey.”

It was clear that Yang wasn’t expecting to see Harpy, and equally wasn’t expecting to see her with smeared makeup and red blown out eyes. It wasn’t just Yang either, the whole team minus Weiss was on the other end of the call. “Yo, is Jaune around? We wanted to talk to him.”

“Fuck, guys please, I need it!” He roared, Harpy not ten feet from the writhing and panting Jaune, desperately trying to cum but neither girl was going to let him off that easily, holding his hips down, so he couldn’t buck up into their massive crushing tits, both of them licking the head of his cock as it poked out from their tit sandwich. 

“Sorry he’s busy right now.” Harpy said with a measured amount of disinterest, not even flinching at the desperate pleading of her team leader. “I can take a message if you want.”

“Mmm you want to cum master? Are you going to fill me up again?” Amber moaned, kissing the head of his cock, licking up the leaking precum. 

“It’s my turn next.” Pale chided.

“Yeah can you…” It was Ruby now. “ Can you tell him we wanted to... catch… up..” Her words trailed away.

“Behind you… is that Jaune?” It was blake now.

Harpy didn’t even miss a beat, looking over her shoulder at the very obvious threesome happening behind her and then back at the camera, turning herself so it was no longer in frame. “Nope. I’ll let him know but we’re got him pretty busy here, taking care of three girls, you know how it is.” She paused looking over at her allies. “Hey you skanks, I called next after Pale, that cock is mine.”

Then she looked back at the camera. “Yeah. Busy.” though her eyes were still glued to the sight of jaune hammering his cock between the two sets of amazing tits, each impact giving off wet skin slapping sounds that were unmistakable, obvious to those on the other end of the scroll call. “Well I’ll let you guys go, he’ll call you back if he has any energy. Toodles.” She waved her fingers and hung up, tossing the phone off to the side.

Just in time too.

Jaune had one hand on Pale’s tit, pillowing the flesh out around his fingers. The other hand on Amber’s head guiding her to lick the head in tandem with pale while both women massaged their tits around his length. Combined with his hips hammering upwards into the intense pressure of their cleavage it was clear he wasn’t going to last long.

Harpy didn’t wait though, joining the other two but from the side, letting Pyrrha and Weiss, who were both openly touching themselves at the display now, see everything. The three woman licking and sucking at what of his cock was exposed over the two sets of massive tits pressed against the pistoning cock that moved between them.

“Come on Daddy, let me drink that salty spunk.”

“Cum in my mouth master, I’ve been such a goooood girl~”

“My sweet boy, let it all out, all over my big boobs~”

“Gods damned it’s so good, fuck! I’m cumming!” Jaune roared, surely getting another noise complaint call already, a torrent of hot white jizz shooting into the air, it rained down over the girls like a fire hydrant popped open. Rope after rope landing across them in more than any one person should ever let out at once. 

A heavy stream painted the large canvas of Pale’s pearlescent white orbs of titflesh. A rope landing across her face and plastering one of her eyes shut. She squealed happily at the warmth spreading across her lovely features.

Harpy opened her mouth, letting rope after rope fill her gaping maw, low greedy moans of pleasure escaping her whorish throat. Then letting the last two streaming lines splatter against her cheek and drip down her chin onto her moderate bust.

Amber felt rope after rope land across her face, covering both her eyes, her chin, dripping down in heavy webbing connecting her chest to her chin, she looked like she’d been in a five man bukkake and loved every second of it, even though it was just one load from the master she adored so much.

All three women kissing his length, licking the left over cum off him, sucking what remained from his length while cleaning up the mess they had made, three tongues, three sets of hands, three greedy maws so eager for more. Though jaune was hardly responsive, and when they looked over they found their team leader was unconscious, eyes closed and breathing a steady up and down, exhaustion finally taking him.

Pale started to lick the mess off of Amber’s cheek, kissing her teammate and swapping the remaining cum they had left still clinging to their tongues. While Harpy just made a ‘humph’ sound and looked down at their leader. “Guess we worked him too hard” 

Amber broke the kiss, biting onto pale’s lip as she pulled back, letting the elastic flesh snap back into place. “Can you blame him? None of us have strong Semblances without him, he works harder than any of us.”

“What a cute face he makes when he’s sleeping.” Pale practically swooned looking at him rest. “Harpy did you get that gift we talked about set up for him?”

“Gift?!” Amber looked incredulously at her teammates. “Why didn’t you tell me about it.”

“You would have told him about it you skanky mutt.” Harpy shot a villainous glare at her teammate. “Yeah I have it all set up.” 

The white haired woman leaned towards the pink haired woman, kissing her cheek and causing the bubblegum girl to turn a light shade of pink. “Thank you, Harp.”

“Whatever.”

“What is it?!” Amber shouted, her breasts bouncing ridiculously as she bounced on the bed, causing the still sleeping jaune to bounce back and forth, cock still standing at attention even beyond his will.

“I’ll tell you all about it tonight.” Pale tutted, lips pressing against jaune’s member and leaving a nice mark of fresh lipstick at the base. 

Harpy wasn’t interested anymore unless she was going to get a rise out of him, so she got up, still mostly naked, walking towards the still slightly open door. Pulling it open she found only two damp spots on the ground, seeing the spot both women had been sitting and watching, dripping onto the dorm room’s floors and leaving a terrible mess.

“Huh.. When did they leave?” She said mostly to herself.

“Amber don’t hog it all to yourself, I want some too.”

“But I want him to wake up and praise me some more~”

“We should let him rest.” Pale retorted. 

Harpy rolled her eyes, checking her scroll and looking at the two text conversations she still had open. Nora Valkyrie and Lia Ren. Good enough Prey for Amber she supposed, though honestly breaking the boisterous hammer slut did start a fire between her legs. Enjoying breaking as much as being broken. 

Two new toys for the team to play with, gifts for her daddy. Maybe he’d tie her up if she was good enough. Or bad enough, decisions, decisions.

Looking over her shoulder at the stirring Jaune and the two women fighting over his cock, she let the door finally close shut. Who needed other sluts when he had them, they were all petty little girls concerned with themselves, he had three women who loved him, adored him, would do anything for him.

Pale gazed up at him with a tender love, Harpy with a coy lust, Amber with an eager excitement.

Jaune couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

And to be honest, no one who knew could really blame him.

_______

Hey everyone! I had so much fun writing this you have no idea. From the same anon who brought you the last fic, this one was really great, I got to make three brand new OC characters and they were so much fun to make and add into the world. We also have plans for a second chapter and another fun story on the way so I hope you enojy all of that.

Regardless I'm working on two other comission and a new Ressurection album chapter too, Ochaco is kind of on hold until I can sort some stuff out or until I get some more free time, until then, hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the next one!


	2. Wannabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune tries to reconnect with his old friends only to find out he really doesn't need them. Still when Nora and Lia Ren press the issue he's more than happy to let them in, let them be apart of his life, as long as they follow a few rules and make sure to share with his new girls.

Better Than Ever  
Demon Dice - WannaBe

All these whiny dissin' pricks been tryna kick the record straight  
Pennin' rhymes without a thought about the planet and its state  
Caught up wasting precious time undermining the competition... wait.  
...I need two syllables, fuck it I'll use "fuckin'" again!  
These lyrical gaps easily fillable,  
Unkillable バカバカしい philosophy, a real smooth talker  
Lookin' fake-ass "MC Slim-Shaka-Laka"  
...Hokay.

“Guys, we can go for Ramen any time, we should be planning.” Jaune protested, pinching the bridge of his nose. In front of him two lovely teammates pulled him forward, Amber the Wolf faunus grabbing onto his pinky towards wherever they were leading him. 

“We have a surprise, just be patient.” Amber promised.

The other of these two, the pink haired pop-star lookalike Harpy had suggested they go get some food, a break. Their third teammate, a beautiful giantess of a woman named Pale, offered to stay behind and clean up last evenings, that night, and this morning's messes. 

Amber was a beautiful curvy dog-girl, she would be so unassuming in the baggy sweatshirt that barely hid the skin hugging spat shorts she sported. Her long black and gray hair was a tangled mess that was thick enough that the only brushes they could use had to be made from steel. Her eyes a tempered gold, so stark in its contrast with the many dark shades that made up her figure that they almost looked to glow in the dark. 

Though her bright smile always made any room a little less grim. Under that Baggy sweatshirt Amber didn’t really wear much, she’d have a simple white t-shirt on but the nearly feral girl often detested wearing clothes if she had to, so chose to either wear as little as possible or so much it felt more like fur or a blanket. Besides that she didn’t wear much jewelry, earrings that were a gift from Jaune, just simple gold beads. And a hair pin of the atlas academy betraying her allegiance. 

Harpy was a different story, She was bright colours, neon lights and bad attitude. Her short hair a dyed bright pink, cut down to a shoulder length bob with curt bangs. Blue green and red eyeliner with heavy shadows of black. With enough glitter on her lids and cheeks alone sparkle and twinkle like the night sky. Besides that she wore bright neon green lipstick with a black line down the center of her lower lip and green little dots of makeup, something jaune couldn’t place, under her right eye, which he had to admit brought the weird ensemble on her face together. Her shirt was some band T, cut to be a crop-top that showed off thin stomach and sunkissed skin, the shirt tented by her handfuls of wobbly tits barely held up by the pushup bra she knows is a cup size too small but she says the spillage makes them look bigger. 

Besides that her shorts are cut offs too, jeans, pockets still hanging down, Though jaune did insist on the ones that cover up that heavy swaying ass of hers. Both of the women having to be informed that they might be able to dress how they want in the solitary halls of Atlas, but here in beacon walking around with their asses hanging out would get them in a lot of trouble. 

It was impossible not to notice how nice their hips swaying was, Pale was gorgeous and probably had more to her curves than Amber or Harp, but the sheer size of Ambers compared to her muscular body was amazing, matched with a perfect shape and bounce. While Harpy had a nice perky round fat ass that was a perfect heart shaped tear drop, bouncing with just the right amount of elasticity at each of her steps, that you could tell just how firm her perfect fatty cheeks are.

Jaune was probably the most comfortably dressed of them, wearing a plain white t-shirt with the atlas symbol in blue printed over the shoulder and back. Besides that simple jeans with a Bunny logo on the back pocket. Which wasn’t the only bunny he had on his person, ditching the hoodie a long time ago, he instead got the logo tattooed on his bicep. Surprisingly it was at Harpy’s insistence, the normally aggressive and mean girl having instantly fallen in love with Jaune’s sisters after meeting them once and getting all starry eyed at the idea of a big family. Since the hoodie was a brand all of the girls really liked, she insisted that it would be better as a tattoo than wearing that ‘Lame hoodie’ as she put it.

Besides that the only other noticeable feature of the three would be the three rings Jaune wears on his left hand, and the two very distinct ‘chokers’ his teammates wore. Reason being it was very obvious that they were collars and neither girl wanted to hide that fact. Jaune’s rings a golden one, an obsidian purple one and a stark white one, all simple little carved stones. Meanwhile the collars were a little more distinct. Amber wore just a regular spiked dog collar, her name printed on the dog paw print tag at the front. Harpy wore a pink leather weave that looked like a mix between a spider web and the binding of a corset. 

The three of them catching eyes as they walked through the halls of Beacon. Jaune’s team was getting a name for themselves as the fan favorite to win the vytal festival, not only that but this was becoming something of a political spectacle. 

Something of a power struggle had formed between Ozpin and Ironwood as well as Beacon and Atlas Military, Jaune being seen as a divisive piece in this struggle. Someone tossed aside by Ozpin and picked up by Ironwood, his worth and place in this tournament an indicator of the men who had made up their minds about him.

Jaune felt weird about the eyes, unused to so much public attention. Still he didn’t care much for the grander ideas of men with motives greater than him. He promised a win to his girls and wouldn’t disappoint them.

But that was thoughts for other days, instead they had ramen to eat apparently. Seeing the red flaps of it’s stall like building come into view.

Memories flooding back of different times, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren took him here the first day they became a team, he remembered it so vividly. Feeling the imposter syndrome cling to his bones, like he was separate than the people around him. Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake had all tagged along, for them it was a gathering of good times and friends, however for Jaune it felt like he was surrounded by the failures of his own morals. There was a bitter swell in his gut, only a small spike of jealousy. It faded.

“Jaune?” It was Amber, of course she’d pick up on his feelings, with her hand on his everything about him was laid bare.

“I had bad memories here.” He shrugged. “Lots of places here have ghosts haunting them.” Deciding being honest was better than avoiding the question.

His mind filtered back to the moment he stepped out for air, having Pyrrha follow after him, the way she looked him over with curious eyes, they hadn’t talked but they stood next to each other, shoulders touching looking at the stars. It was the only time Jaune had felt like he belonged.

As long as Pyrrha was beside him, he had a place.

“Let’s make some better memories.” Harpy urged, tugging on his sleeve and pulling him into the small noodle shop.

“JAUNE!!” An unmistakable shrill voice brought him back to the first night here. Seeing this old team waving at him in his mind’s eye, like he was back in that shop, still a fearful little cheat. It wasn’t reality though, sitting at the usual place wasn’t his old team and team rwby but rather only members of it. Nora and Ren.

Nora looks exactly like she did every other given day, short pulled back orange hair, chipper smile, the only thing about her was that she was wearing a fairly plain white hoodie with the zipper down the front pulled most of the way down to reveal the pink t-shirt under. Jaune could see her fake denim jeans stretching around her thick thighs and wide plush ass that was squished down against the stool she was sitting on. 

Lia Ren looked just as adorable as the day Jaune last saw her, her sleek features and long black hair making her look almost princessly, if it wasn’t for the angular line of her jaw making her look almost boyish she would be a delicate flower so unbecoming the huntress she was training to be. Her lithe frame was accented by the wide hips and perfect bubble butt she often hid under layers of cloth and robe. And a little known fact is that her nearly flat chest is actually a facsimile. Actually a quite large bust rivaling her partner, Ren bound it down to make herself look almost flat.

“Jaune, Amber, Harpy! It’s so good to see you guys again!” Nora’s chipper voice pierces the fog of melancholy around seeing them here again. Jaune didn’t really feel one way or the other about his old team, but some places were tainted by their memory. He felt good seeing them happy, it made being here easier.

“Nora! It’s so good to see you!!!” Amber called out and rushed to hug her new friend. Jaune wasn’t sure when the two met, he thought he had introduced them yesterday. Blinking he kept his face neutral, had they met prior? No Amber was just affectionate, he tried to tell himself but there was an edge of something else, some plan, it reeked of Harpy.

The girl in question looking away and covering her lips with the tips of her fingers as though jaune was reading her very mind through her eyes.

“It’s good to see you all again, we didn’t get to properly talk yesterday.” Ren agreed, her voice a sweet melody, she could have been a singer, jaune had heard her only a couple times, when she thought no one was listening.   
dw  
“Amber look at you! You look so pretty!” Nora roared and lifted the not easy to lift (Jaune could attest) muscley wolf girl off the ground like it was nothing.

“So loud.” Ren mused.

“I know right? They were made for each other.” Harpy groaned, the two sharing a quick smile. 

Jaune’s heart instantly at ease with how friendly they all seemed to be getting along. Though still having half a foot on the edge, waiting for Harpy’s no doubt devious little scheme to spring like a mousetrap.

As it turns out, Harpy had invited Ren and Nora to have dinner with them, ramen at a place she ‘saw on her way in’ Like jaune hadn’t told her the story of his first day here. Like she didn’t know exactly the weird ghosts that haunted this place. Still the conversation seemed light hearted and fun, Nora asked about Harpy but didn’t get too much, Harpy didn’t have a lot to tell, even though Nora was convinced the pink haired girl had more story to tell.

Meanwhile amber did the exact same thing but to Ren who equally insisted “Really I just came from a small village, I’m just not that interesting.”

“Nonsense! You’re just being modest, Ren and I were from a village that got attacked by Grimm, Ren was so cool and helped me escape.” She leaned over and covered her mouth the back of her hand regardless of the fact she didn’t lower her voice at all, “Between you and me I coulda’ taken it.”

“Of course you could, Nora.” Ren rolled her eyes, taking in a mouthful of pork and noodles. 

“I gotta say if there’s anyone I believe killed a big bad grimm it would be you two, to be fair.” Jaune smiled and raised his glass, the sloshing yellow beer evident.

“See Jaune thinks I can take it!” Nora boasted, putting a hand to the flat of her chest, a mess on her lower lip that she probably didn’t even realize was there. “I’m pretty OP Ren, if you hadn’t heard.” 

“Pfft, we’ll see about that when it’s you and me in the ring, baby cakes.” Amber scoffed.

Nora put on her best randy savage deep gruff wrestler voice “Monday! Monday! Monday! Watch my hammer knock the light out of this little lost puppy! This is my kitchen and it looks like I’m serving up poodles tonight!” 

“Who are you calling a Poodle!?” Amber feigned offence to the comment, smirking like an idiot. “I hope your smack is better than it’s talk, else I might just fall asleep.” She stuck her tongue out “Besides you know you could never hit me with that big clunky hammer.”

“CLUNKY?!” Nora roared.

“Oh boy.” Ren sighed. Watching as Nora went off on a tirad about how her hammer was the best weapon a hunter or huntress could ever ask for. Ending with a line about it exploding when she swung it. 

Amber looked on in awe. “That’s so cool! I never used a weapon, maybe I should get a hammer.” Looking over at Jaune. “Master, can I get one? Can I? Cani? Canicanicanicanicanicanicani?”

Jaune joined his rekindled friend in her sigh. Pinching the bridge of his nose. “You don’t like using weapons, we tried it, remember?”

Amber got a long, distant stare, everyone just watching as no doubt a very detailed flashback with oddly fitting piano music played, everything has a grainy filter over it, for some reason everyone is wearing a monocle. “Riiiight, I hope that instructor figured out where his fingers went.” 

Everyone stopped and looked over at the wolf girl who just had a passive and thoughtful but evidently not remorseful look on her face. Jaune just took another mouthful of his drink, having lived the story and did not want to bring it up further.

“Harpy you should tell them about your staff!” Amber elbowed her friend.

“I shouldn’t. I’ll be fighting tomorrow just like you, dumbass.” 

“Okay but consider, It’s really cool, and a lot cooler than that hammer.” Amber insisted.

“What’s so cool about a stick?” Nora grumbled.

That got Harpy’s attention “Stick?”

“Oh no.” Jaune mimicked Ren’s earlier sentiment.

“My segmented carbon-steel weave, 6 foot, retractable hook, blade and net, with compact weighted bolas, tracking darts, Bo-Staff, is not a stick. It’s taser butt and flash band snapping point, faux leather binding with detailed Atleasian engraving,crafted by our finest engineers and gifted to me by Ironwood himself, is not ‘a stick.’ Pity the thought.” Harpy huffed, turning up her nose, indignant to the idea of any part of her being made mockery. 

“So a very fancy stick?” Nora shrugged with a tilted head.

“That’s what I said!” Amber agreed. Jaune snorting into his almost downed beer at that, he couldn’t wait to see Harpy’s face.

Harpy meanwhile was straining to keep a smile past the annoyance and desperate need to correct them. See it wasn’t enough she thinks she's better, others needed to think it too. The idea they didn’t set this deep seeded need for superiority that, although they were working it, was very hard for the pink haired girl to hide.

“Yeah…” She finally relented, through comically gritted teeth. “A. Really. Fancy. Stick.” 

The conversation switching as the bowls slowly started to empty, laughter filled the ramen bar, stories, jokes. Jaune talking about the ace operatives, Atlas Military school. Harpy talking about Argos, which they’d only heard little snippets about from Pyrrha. Nora and Ren talking about life in Beacon. A conversation Jaune found pleasantly surprising he was comfortable with.

Then Nora looked over at Amber. “So where do you come from Am?”

Amber got a little red in the cheeks at that, ears flicking with the nervousness that she so rarely felt, let alone showed visibly. Jaune also got a look about him, despite his attempts to keep it hidden. “Well I don’t really know.”

“You don’t know?” Ren asked.

“Amber…” Harpy sounded a little worried for her partner.

“Oh no, guys it's fine, it’s just a pretty sad story, it hasn’t been a touchy subject in a long time.” She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I was abandoned by my mother when I was eight, in the woods of some village outside argos. My dad passed away and my mother didn’t want the reminder, I guess.” She shrugged.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” Nora got quiet for maybe the first time since Jaune had known her.

“Don’t be, It’s the only reason I met Jaune. I was living out in the woods and someone had to take his nearly dead ass to Argos.” She snickered and elbowed him in the ribs. 

“I feel like they need context.” Harpy offered.

Jaune picked up the note here. “I couldn’t afford tickets for the train, so when I was heading north I went through the woods.” He jabbed his thumb at Amber. “I saw this crazy person literally surrounded by Grimm, beowulf's actually. I thought she was being attacked.”

“My semblance is Empathy, so I can control the emotions of animals or at least tell what they’re thinking, mostly it's just good getting them to not attack me, but when It first awoke, I used it to make a group of Grimm think I was one of their own. I’ve only been able to do it very sparingly since, It’s very very difficult and inconsistent.” Amber clarified.

“But I was still shit at fighting back then, so she of course had to rescue me, I was kind of injured.”

“He was bleeding really bad.”

“It was a scratch.” He insisted. “So she went with me to Argos. It took a lot longer than expected, we ran into a lot of Grimm, bandits, wild animals. We became really good friends and she asked to join me when I went to Atlas, the rest is history.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “He’s making it sound less amazing than it was, Jaune saved my life more than once, then managed to convince Ironwood to let me join his team.” Leaning over and kissing his cheek. “He convinced me people were worth a second chance.”

Her finally musing seemed to leave an impact, both Nora and Ren looking down at the ground, trying to process that.

Jaune couldn’t help but feel this was really Harpy's plan all along, but to what end he wondered. 

Conversations moved slowly, not trailing or dragging but just letting everyone well in the foundational growth. Each little laugh, smile, jab or joke was so fluid, so second nature. It felt good to see everyone smiling, Jaune tried to memorize the moment, memorize the way Harpy and Amber looked, Ren and Nora. All... Happy.

Of course it couldn’t last though, not for him at least. See he was mostly indifferent to the other teams, his old friends. But seeing them walk into the room put a mellow on the mood that was hard to ignore. He didn’t feel animosity towards them, but there was a shrugged distance he kept from them, a certain survivor's instinct that kept him from neither forgiving them nor embracing who they are now.

Team RWBY joined by Pyrrha entered into the noodle shop, stopping dead in their tracks upon seeing Jaune sitting with the women he found in his company.

“Jaune.” Pyrrha stated flatly, like she hadn’t even considered he’d be here, then her eyes focused on the other people across from him and her tone turned inquisitive. “Nora? Ren?”

If this was part of Harpy’s plan Jaune didn’t like it, his eyes darting towards the pink haired girl but finding her just as confused, a furrowed brow, as he was. 

“Oh… Uh.. Heeeeey.” Nora tried to buy time to explain herself.

Jaune realized that the other didn’t know Nora and Ren were here.

They didn’t, or couldn’t tell them. They couldn’t say they were out having dinner with him. 

Jaune might have had a half bowl left but he pushed it in front of him, a distaste ruining his appetite. “This is perfect, I’m actually full. You guys can take my seat.” He flashed his best smile but there was a certain forced nature to it. “I wish I could stay and talk but I need to prep for tomorrow and I’m well overdue.” 

“But, We just got here.” Yang scoffed “We didn’t even get to say hi.”

“Jaune..” Ruby started but didn’t know how to continue.

“I just don’t want to overstay my welcome.” Jaune tried to play it like a joke but there was a tense silence at that.

“You’re not, jaune, please.” Nora stood up. “This was so nice, come on we can try to be friends again.”

Harpy stood up now, glaring at the redhead across from her. “You called them? I can’t believe you.” And judging from the way Nora couldn’t meet her gaze it was true.

“She just wanted to bring up here so we could all be together again.” Ruby chimed in, trying to ease the growing tension. But there was little to be done, between Pyrrha and Weiss already feeling guilty, especially after the events of last night, and now everyone else being put in a very awkward situation it was clear no one really wanted to be here right now even if everyone wanted to try and make amends.

Well almost everyone.

“It seems I already have.” Jaune muttered, pinching that sensitive bridge of his nose, all too familiar with the texture of his fingertips. “I’m going, you two can stay if you like.”

“I’m going too, this isn’t fun anymore.” Amber agreed.

“Please Jaune, we just want to apologise.” Blake spoke up. Weiss and Pyrrha both avoid eye contact and refuse to contribute.

That got the three atlas hunters to stop, Jaune looking at Harpy and then Amber before over at Blake. “You don’t even have a clue what you’re apologising for.” There wasn’t malice in his tone, but rather an exhausted sad understanding. Blake really didn’t know the extent of her team’s failings. “Listen, I’m happy, you guys are happy, we can be happy separately, it’s fine.”

“Why though? What do you mean?” Yang folded her arms under her chest, trying to understand even though there was no way she possibly could. 

“Because you guys have bigger issues than just being shitty friends.” Harpy spat. Though that got her a glare from Jaune.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked with some hesitation. 

“She means some of us didn’t just turn our backs on Jaune.” Pyrrha finally spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her. “I was the one who told Ozpin about his transcripts.”

“Pyrrha?” Nora looked so hurt, so shocked, Ren mimicked the expression, both of them seeing Pyrrha in a whole new light, they still clung to some hope, a little twinkle in their eyes. “You didn’t know right? You thought it was a mistake, right?”

“No. I knew what I was doing.” The whole room was silent, it felt like the world wasn’t moving anymore. Her voice started to crack with the emotion welling up inside it. “I didn’t know what to do, I thought if Jaune was found out it would reflect on the whole team. I didn’t think they would expel him.”

Her admission didn’t make Jaune feel any better. Honestly it felt so hollow, a woe is me to the months of depression and anxiety she’d given him. If he hadn’t found Amber…

“I’m sorry.” Pyrrha finally said, it was heartfelt, genuine, but felt so empty.

“Pyrrha I had no idea.” Yang murmured. “I can’t believe you kept that from us.”

That was what Jaune hated about this group, he didn’t hate very much, but they never seemed to look past themselves. Jaune had his life ripped apart but they are more concerned with Pyrrha not telling them. This was almost a real apology but he could tell what it was turning into.

“I’m sorry too..” Weiss this time. “I convinced everyone not to message Jaune, that we would get in trouble if we did. Not only that.. But.. I blocked his number from reaching ours. At the tower. We never got his messages, if he sent any.”

“Weiss, that’s…” Blake stepped up now. “That so cruel, how could you do something like that?”

“Now they’re getting it.” Harpy muttered smugly.

Conversation went like this for a minute or two, everyone getting all the sickly details of the lengths each of them had gone to, to avoid Jaune and the black stain he was on their lives… Until now at least. 

“I can’t believe you all!” Nora shouted. “He was our friend, and you all just… just-”

“You aren’t any better.” Now it was amber.

“What, I didn’t do anything to Jaune.” Nora for the first time in her life sounded meek.

“Yeah! You let them all do horrible things to him and didn’t say a word, he was gone, alone and none of you did anything for him. You might not have been wearing the boot but all of you sat and watched while he got kicked out! Then you didn’t even try to be his friend, not until you see how good he is, see the worth Ironwood saw!” Amber glared daggers at them “We invited you two here because we wanted Jaune to have a piece of home, because we knew he has ghosts here, It seems the ghosts were real though, not just specters in the mist.”

Everyone looked over at Jaune who was just covering his eyes with the palm of his hand, avoiding all of them.

“But all of you are so concerned with yourselves, how this affects you!”

“I-... we..” Nora stuttered.

“We didn’t realize… We should have been better.” Ren summarized. “We.. I’m... sorry.”

The sentiment was shared by just about everyone in the group, all agreeing to some degree what they did was wrong. Jaune looked them all over and though there was some smug satisfaction with it all, he still felt empty. Well they felt empty, he knew he was full of love, looking over and Amber and then Harpy, It was clear he was better off. 

But not faced with the redemption he’d dreamt about those first few months…

“Maybe before I unlocked my Semblance.. Or before I met my… or Amber… Maybe. I know there must have been some point when an apology was all I wanted.” A small smile grew across his lips, contented, sure of himself. “I’m just not interested in half assed words.” He shrugged, which got a weird look from everyone before him, besides his team. “Suddenly everyone is sorry after I show up with Atlas’s best and Ironwood’s training? Gotta understand how hollow that feels right? I get it you mean it, sure. I just think it’s too little too late.”

Letting a long satisfied sigh, gods that felt good, he put down a card. “Ramens on me, eat up.” turning and walking away, finally, finally getting the chance to turn his back, not out of pettiness, not out of pride but out of a self assuredness in himself and the friends around him. 

Jaune walked out of there, feeling like the sexiest, strongest man in the world.

____

“You know, I appreciate the thought.” Jaune finally said, as they were just about back at their dorm. “Getting Ren and Nora to come out for dinner, making friends. It was sweet.”

“Harpy was trying to fuck ‘em.” Amber said like a child tattling on their sibling.

“Wha-” Harpy tried to sound offended. “I-, you- Well then if you’re going to Lie about me.” 

“I believe it with every fiber of my being” Jaune assured her with a cheeky grin. “Was it Ren or Nora that caught your eye?” He teased. Amber, catching on to Jaune’s intentions, got behind her teammate, keeping pace with each of her quick foot falls. 

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.” Harpy tried to grumble.

Amber just reached out with both hands, squeezing Harpy on her sides and getting a small squeak out of the punky woman. “Was it Nora’s big boobs? Her fat jiggling ass?” Her hands roaming up the curve of the bust pop-stars lithe frame. Sneaking their way under her shirt. “Maybe her wide, grabbable hips? Just enough fat to sink your fingers in?”

Harpy got a bright pink glow to her cheeks, Her eyes avoiding her teammates “The idea might have crossed my mind.” 

“I would have figured Ren was more your type.” Jaune waved offhandedly, letting a sly little smirk play across his lips. He appreciated the distraction, the girl trying to get his mind off things, even if he was happy to finally be free from the ghosts of his past, there was still a sad little edge to that, like the opposite of a silver lining. The little black line off of something good. 

“Ooo, Ren is so cute, I bet she looks so sexy when she feels good!” Amber looked so starry eyed at the idea.

That was one of the perks that Amber got from her semblance, Her empathy let her feel every bit of pleasure someone else felt, every ounce of love or lust. That’s why she couldn’t have many people around her when she started, it was overwhelming, especially when she was connected to jaune who just made the experience ten times better, or worse depending on how ‘good’ it felt.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” Harpy muttered, bringing them both back to reality.

“I hope you’re not thinking of replacing me with someone cuter.” Jaune teased. “I’m getting jealous with you talking about them” A little chuckle passing with the harmless joke.

“No never!” Amber yowled defensively.

“I don’t know with Ren around I might finally have someone to talk to.” Harpy put a finger to her chin like she was giving it some serious thought.

“You wound me.” Jaune winked at her. “If you think Ren can leave you red like I can, by all means.” That made Harp turn an even brighter shade of red. Her mouth about to open and say something but it being cut off by the doors to their dorm opening. Seeing the subjects of their conversation come through the threshold. 

“Ren, Nora?” Jaune thought maybe he was confusing other people around, not because they looked different but because he couldn’t fathom a world in which anyone would want to talk to him after the ramen shop scene.

“Hey, Jaune…” Nora still sounded a little sad. Her eyes trailing towards Harpy and then Amber. “Can we talk to you for a minute?”

Harpy and Amber both looked back towards him, neither seeming to judge him for the momentary pause he took.. He should say no, every part of him wanted to, Harpy and Amber both probably wanted him to say it but…

“You two go on ahead, I’ll be up soon.” Then his gaze drifted towards his old team. “One minute.” He reminded them and let them usher him into an empty classroom. 

He vaguely remembered it as Goodwitch’s fourth year history room, it smelt like it did back then, dust clinging to the walls, both the crystal kind and from the lack of upkeep on the old smelly books locked in these dingy halls.

His hand trailed over the desk at the front, it was where he sat, well not literally. He hadn’t made it to fourth year, but it was the space he took up in their other classes. The same place he sat for Ironwood’s great leaders' lectures. A smile just curling at the edges of his lips, remember the first time he sat down in either. He felt so out of place either time. He didn’t feel out of place now though.

“So?” He asked, to no one in particular. 

“We wanted to apologise” Ren started, raising her hands to show she had no ill intentions and posed no threat to him.

“You already did.”

“We didn’t know.” Nora tried to reason.

“Of course you didn’t, but you never thought to find out, I was out of sight out of mind.” 

There was a long pause after that.

“We want to try and be better, make it up to you.” Nora stepped forward. “I can’t live with myself knowing what we did, what we all did, Ren and I talked about it, we want to forfeit the match.” Her face was stern, she intended to do it too.

Jaune looked at them for a moment. They really were going to throw their chance, slim as it was, at winning this tournament away just to get back into his good graces weren’t they? His lips turned upwards into a smirk, then a smile, then he started laughing. It was a full belly laugh, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. “Oh gods, fuck!”

“W-we’re serious Jaune!” Nora shouted over his laughter.

“I know, I know hahah, holy shit my sides.” After his laughter subsided enough, the two stunned women could finally get their answer. “Harpy would murder me in my sleep if I asked you to throw the match. Honestly fighting the hardest you can would be the best way to get on my goodside.”

Ren just shook her head, at a loss. “Then what can we do? How can we prove that we’re serious?”

Jaune shrugged but before his shoulders came down Nora was already on her knees at his feet, looking up at him with a very serious face. Both other people in the room looking at her perplexed expressions. Nora had to admit she hadn’t really thought this out herself, but she was sure of two things. She pulled down on the hem of her shirt, pulling it to reveal the line of pretty creamy cleavage that spilled out over the impression of her fingers.

“Words aren’t going to get to you, words are empty. Let me show you how I feel.” Her breath was catching, she was so nervous, but honest.

Jaune looked up from Nora, a growing bulge in his pants, looking at Ren. Her face flush with a little arousal, a little shame. “I would be remiss to say I hadn’t also had that thought. I’ve been thinking about it… you since you came back.”

“I wanted to try this before you left.” Nora admitted, reaching out with the flat of her hand to touch his thigh. Looking intently at the growing bulge in his pants. “D-do you want ‘it’?” Her gaze tilted, curious. 

Jaune didn’t waste much time, waving for Ren to join her friend at his feet, kneeling her down. He eased the hem of his pants lower, hooked his thumb down to apply some pressure while his other hand slowly opened his zipper. “Last chance to back out.” He warned.

“Not a chance, blondie.” Nora teased.

Her demeanor changed when his pants finally popped open, cock springing upwards and hitting her chin, causing her to flinch back in surprise. It was massive! Nora blinked a few times at it, looking over at Ren who had an even more concerned face. Nora knew neither of them were virgins but boys at Beacon hardly counted compared to this thick, meaty, monstrous cock. 

It was the length of her face, maybe longer, it was thick around as her wrist. Her insides cringed at the thought of that being inside her. But for some reason it still begged her to jump on it, to drive it into her folds.

Ren was having a similar thought, but she wanted to see it lodged in her ass, cum all over her pretty features, the pink in her hair. She wanted to finger herself while she sucked on that massive fuckmeat between her once teammates legs. 

“Oh wow.” Ren murmured. Hand coming up to touch the pallid surface of it’s rigid length. Jaune took a measure of pride in that, letting both beautiful women run their finger tips over his length, trailing their nails down towards the heavy, already swollen again sack below him.

Nora wasn’t shy, they all knew that, but the dirty look in her eyes tingling with lust and desire made a needy little shiver run up Jaune’s spine. Watching her look up at him with his own cock between their gazes, like she was peering around a wall, as she opened her maw to plant a heavy, set kiss against his pelvis. Kissing the shaven mound where his sack met his thigh, then down closer to those churching orbs. Each smacking of her lips, dripping with audible desire.

To her right, the black and pink haired beauty was still intently dragging her fingers over each inch of his length, like she was counting every centimeter. Moving it’s girth closer to herself so she can move up to plant heavy soft kisses with the plush pillowy masses of her lips, letting him feel the lick slicked surface of their cushiony flesh. They pressed flat against his length, dragging a little along his length before pulling back, tongue rolling over the now smeared lipstick to gather up his taste. Admiring the perfectly shaped black kiss mark against the side of his cock. 

She leaned forward to kiss again, creating mark after mark of her affection on the slick, intimidating mass of man meat before her. Leaning back to admire the messy prints overlapping each inch.

With both of them kissing every section of skin they could find, Jaune really could tell the kind of connection they wanted to make with him. Couldn’t say he didn’t want it too. “Alright, enough teasing, time for the main course.” 

Threading his fingers through Nora’s hair, curling it back to angle her head up towards him, lining her lips up with the head of his length, parting their pillowy surface so she could feel their plush spreading around him. Feeling her tongue reach out to slither past them further down his cock. Her eyes only sparingly darted over to Ren, her own eyes glued to her friend, but tried to glue her vision to the man at the other end of the cock in her mouth. Pushing herself further until it pushed against the back of her throat, threatening to push deeper than most boys ever managed to reach. Her lidded gaze so intently locked on his, portraying her deep satisfaction with him.

When she pulled back she hollowed out her cheeks, sucking hard against the backwards motion. Jaune flinching at the sudden rush of pleasure, loving the slow methodical pace of her hard and heavy blowjob. Not to mention how sloppy she was, tendrils of thick sloppy spit spilling out around her lips each time she pulled forward, making an utter mess of a puddle at her knees. Then streaming wires of gunk connecting her lips to his cock every time she pulled back, just so she could press forward and give him the sensation of spread her lips all over again.

She twisted her head, like she was trying to twist the cap off a water bottle, screwing her way down his shaft with the flicking of her tongue working the head inside her sloppy wet maw. All the while her lips inch wormed themselves all the way down until he could feel his cock start to bend down her throat. A few painful inches of his shaft left untouched, her hands planted firmly on his thighs unwilling to give him the satisfaction of touch, just yet at least. 

Not about to rest on her friend’s laurels, Ren got to her feet, moving up beside jaune and pressing her body flat to his. Feeling the muscle of her toned stomach meeting the heavy wrapping of bandages, feeling her soft hands on his body. Her soft arms wrap around to hold onto his shoulders. Planting her smeared lips against his neck, making a faded lip print of black against his skin. 

Leaning in deeper, pressing her teeth against the sensitive nape of skin. Pinching it between her teeth before letting go, licking up its reddened surface, pursing her lips to blow soft cool air over its now tender surface. 

Her mouth opened up, latching onto the mass of her throat and sucking hard on the flesh she could. Letting go with an audible pop, she kissed the area making sure to give it one last little peck of affection.

Nuzzled into the crux of her shoulder, bringing her lips to plant and soft little peck against his collarbone, Ren licked up from the protruding flat of it up towards his jawline, leaving a nice long wet trail with the flat of her soft velvety tongue. Nipping at the line of his cheek when she got there. “You taste so good Jaune~”

Though he was hardly idle either, with one hand still clinging to locks of Nora’s hair, he bounced her head back and forth, guiding her with a steady hand along her slow methodic pace. His other hand coming behind the woman at his side, sliding along the curve of her hip and around to the plump jiggling weight of her perfect tight ass. Fingers sinking into its bubbly mass. 

Jaune turned his head, catching Ren off guard who still had their tongue out from licking along his jawline. Their noses touching just at the tip, a momentary pause of breath between them before they dove towards each other, greedy lips pressing together in a haught depraved kiss, all tongue and teeth, deep and driven by lust. Her teeth dug into his lip, his fingers dug harder into her rear, making the normally so chaste woman moan like a beast in heat against his open mouth.

Nora seemed to not like the lack of attention on her, deciding that she was done teasing him. She forced her face forward, showing her lack of gag reflex and forcing his cock to bend down her throat, a visible bulge in her throat forming, looking up at her new found lover, once teammate, with an annoyed glare. She pulled along his length causing him to groan in unearthly pleasure.

Fuck! Jaune groaned in his head, she could give any of his girls a run for their money with that kind of cock sucking talent. There was something about how easily she worked with his cock that betrayed her ease with its size. Jaune wondered if there was a guy at beacon who rivaled him but figured there was another, easier option. 

“Your mouth feels so fucking good, damn Nora.” His hand kept hard on the back of her head, keeping her nose pressed against this pelvis, chin nestled between his hanging ballsack. He watched her eyes start to get foggy from lack of air, still trained on his with a grin plastered on her cock drunk dumb, slut face. She loved it, loved the way a cock blocked off her airway, kept her choking on its vascular, meaty girth. “Got a lot of practice throating your toys?”

Ren looked down at her friend, a little confused. Nora’s vision focusing with a startled surprise and embarrassment, for the first time she choked on his cock, her composure faltering. Jaune called it, his knowing, dark smirk showed he loved watching her cute, nervous reactions.

Letting her pull back, slowly, inch by agonisingly pleasurable inch. The slick tendrils of spittle and throat gunk clinging to every inch of his length, dripping off him into a mess at her knees. “Gaaa~h fuck~” Nora moaned the second his length was out of her gaping maw. 

She didn’t have the jaw strength to close it, just gasping in throaty spit covered mouthfuls of air. “Holy.. Jaune, please fuck my throat~” Her eyes practically turning to hearts, glued to the gleaming spit shined pole in front of her. “ I want you to ruin me, fuck me raw~!”

Ren had never seen this side of her friend, sure they had experimented, kissing, teasing, Ren wanted to know what eating another girl out was like. But this fearsome, power bottom, super slut energy might not be out of character for the energetic girl but was still a whole new face she’d never worn before.

“Mmm, want me to shape your throat, fuck it until the only thing you can taste is my thick, heavy load?” Jaune teased, Nora nodding eagerly, hands moving up to stroke his thick cock, not caring about the mess of slick spit on her hands or what she scooped off falling to the floor. She jerked him off fast and hard, like she was trying to push him over the edge, but really she just wanted him to get so horny he couldn’t help but fuck her throat. “Then how about you tell me and Ren about that toy of yours, how does it compare to my cock, what do you do with it?” Then a devilish smirk “Tell me the truth or bend Ren over you and show you how I stretch her out first.”

Ren stiffened at that, her body quivering with a lust she hadn’t realized was there. Hell she was practically dripping through her leggings at the thought. 

“Oh- gods, hnnngh” She bit into her lower lip, toying with the idea of lying or not telling them, but when Jaune pulled his cock away and turned it even a fraction of the way back towards Ren she panicked and blurted out the truth. “I have a huge one, big as you, just as thick, it’s purple and I always think of Ren using it like a strap on!”

There was a pregnant pause. Jaune and Ren both looking down at the desperate, frantic woman, eyes darting between them. Her breathing was still a little haggard, but her body craved getting her throat rubbed raw by the haptic thrusting of the fuckmeatin front of her.

“That's…” Ren started, then in a very surprised voice “Really hot, actually.”

“Right?” Jaune agreed. He took his cock in hand and pushed it past Nero’s lips into her greedy open maw filling her mouth with the savoury flesh she wanted so dearly before forcing it down past the curve of her throat and into her wanting gullet. “Such a good little slut deserves a reward.”

Holding her head with both hands now Jaune started to buck his hips, pulling her back to the halfway point on his girth before pushing back down to the base, marveling at the utter lack of gag-reflex she had, really able to just fuck her tight, velvety throat with abandon. Besides of course her need for air, but honestly he seemed to only get wetter and more eager the longer he blocked her airway with his meaty pole.

“Nora~” Ren’s voice was sing song, kneeling down beside her friend and watching her mouth get used like a cheap toy, pure lust and adoration in both the sluts' eyes. “You take his cock so good, you want me to use that toy on you like that?” A nora vibrating through Jaune’s cock was a sign of approving that idea. “Want me to stuff you full every night? You should have just asked sooner~”

Ren got behind her friend, pulling down and undoing her top until Nora’s heavy wobbling tits bounced free from the confines of her braless top, swaying with the brutal thrusting into her throat.

Leaning in, the black haired girl started to lick up her friend's face, gathering the messy splatterings of precum onto her tongue, savoring every droplet. Making her way, trippingly on the tongue towards Nora’s slender ear, her tongue dove forward, licking tight little circles around the rim of her lobe, dipping in and making sure she could hear every wet slithering sound of the dexterous appendage right inside her well fucked skull.

“Fuck that’s hot.” Jaune groaned, feeling his orgasm building to a powerful tidal wave. His balls swaying wildly with each powerful thrust. Crashing against her chin each time her nose pressed hard into his pelvis. “Get ready!”

Pulling back, he was a little late, pull out game weak.

The first heavy rope of spunk went right down her throat, coating her tongue in a thick viscous salty spray. It was heavy enough she already felt full. Like she’d eaten a full meat. The second was mostly out of her mouth but it shot out like a canon hitting her upper teeth, nose, lips, some spilling into her mouth and along the flat of her well used tongue letting her really get a proper taste of the baby batter covering her pretty features.

Ren wasn’t spared either, cum splattering all over the cute asian’s face, making her hair more white than black as it shot over their heads and landed in a long strand in their hair. Then more against their cheeks, chins. Covering Nora’s breasts in his creamy seed, dripping seed spilling off the supple curved of her pink puffy nipples and onto the mixed mess of juices staining the floor.

“Holy shit Jaune, it’s a fire hose too?” Nora asked wiping her eyes clear of the white creamy goodness he’d covered her in.

“Mmm so creamy.” Ren licked up Nora’s face again, collecting some of the jizz still clinging to her pale skin. “I could eat this all day.”

“How about I give you a direct injection?” Jaune teased, grabbing her wide hips and hoisting her up onto her feet and onto a desk. Bending her forward and sticking that fat wobbly ass of hers up into the air, keeping her head pressed against the wooden surface. One of his hands holding her head down while the other worked on taking off her leggings, though instead he got inpatient and just tore them down the center, reeling her dripping wet folds and only the smallest strand of panties to cover them up.

Pulling them off to the side Jaune really didn’t have to worry about lube, cum and spit still covering every inch of his pallid shaft. Placing his cock between her wonderfully fat ass cheeks, grinding against the twitching rosebud of her asshole. 

“Fuck her Jaune~” Nora practically purred, putting her chin on Ren’s lower back to watch Jaune penetrate her friend. Her eyes greedily drinking in the sexy sight of Jaune’s monstrous cock spreading the fat ass asain woman.

“Don’t worry I’ve been thinking about fucking this perfect slutty ass since the day I got back.”

Ren felt a shiver run up her spine, body overcoming with desire, she was going to get fucked first. 

Then a pause.

He said ass.

“Wait you don’t-?” She was cut off by the head of his sloppy cock pushing against her starfish, spreading it around the tip and forcing her quivering back door open. The amazing stretching feeling causing her to arch her back hard. Luckily Nora was holding her down else she would have pushed herself off the table and onto the floor. In contrast though, her ass relaxed and greedily took more of him in the second she started to thrash around him. “F-fuuck, oh, it- Its so fucking tight!”

“Mmm looks like she likes it up her ass?” Nora giggled, leaning forward and licking from the lip of her friend’s ass to the base of Jaunes cock, letting her tongue tease both thor sensitives organs. 

“She’s right though, fuck this is tight.” Jaune let her head hang back, just enjoying the sensation of such a tight hole wrapped around his cock. Rearing back with his hand and giving it a powerful smack. Her ass rippling from the impact, the pain causing Ren to moan while the view makes Nora join her sentiment. 

“Do that again~” Ren begged in open mouthed gasps of desperate need. “F-fuck me har-harder and sp-spank me more~”

Delivering another powerful smack to her ass, jaune couldn’t help but grind his fingers into her fat ass, watching it pillow out around his fingers. Nora picking up where he left off and delivering slap after powerful slap into her friends ass while Jaune bucked faster and faster into her tight back door.

“Fu-fu- Ahh- shit, so- so ti-tight!” Ren managed to stutter out. Jaune knew exactly how to lean forward, slamming his cock into the thin wall separating her anal pass fromt he the vagininal one, smalling his length into the bundle of nerves that is her g-spot through all those layers, giving her a numbed more teasing sensation through her entire body while she got to feel so utterly full from the vascular monster in her ass.

Ren felt her ass cross, the pleasure welling up inside her. All that teasing proving too much for the anal virgin, her ass clenching down on him “Fuck!” She roared, her body spasming and convulsing around him “Fuck! Shit! I’m cumming!”

Jaune didn’t really have a chance at that, the sight of Nora licking his cock while fucking one of the fattest asses he’d ever seen, it was too much. The first rope of cum shoot deep into her guts, painting her insides white before he managed to pull back, another two thick ropes landing across her perfect pert cheeks. Then Nora’s face, in her open mouth, all over Ren’s torn up leggings, a splattering over her quivering little twat. 

Somehow the quantity of his load hadn’t diminished at all. Both of the girls reveling in the sheer volume of white spunk covering them. “Fuck, Jaune~” Nora moaned, savouring the flavour of him on her tongue. Ren wordlessly whimpering pleasant nothings as she crumbled onto the floor, spurts of white cream leaking out of her still gaping hole. “Mmm looks like she enjoyed herself, c’mon now me next!”

Nora flipped Ren over, both of them laying in the messy puddle of juices and spunk on the ground, Nora having long ago taken off her pants. Opening up Ren’s shirt and tearing off the bindings that hold back her massive perky tits, pressing both of their reasonably sized busts against each other.

Both of them looking between each other, reaching behind themselves to spread their dripping folds apart, giving him a wonderful view of both their tight, dripping holes presented to him. “Come on Jaune, fuck me up~” Nora bade.

“Fill me up with cum Jaune~” Ren begged, still breathing heavy below her busty friend.

Jaune couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride welling up in his chest, this was his return, his phoenix moment. What a fucking view, and it was all his. Ren and Nora weren’t his friends anymore, that shipped sailed a long time ago, but now his team had two new toys to play with while they were at Beacon, and judging from how close the lovers were, tongues dancing with each other while they eagerly waited for him to fuck them, he’d say they were better off for him being here too.

“Don’t keep us waiting~” Nora moaned, kissing her friend on the neck, sucking on the tender skin with eager intent.

“Just can’t decide who first.” Jaune confessed, kneeling down between their legs, pushing his cock against Nora’s dripping cunt lips, then dragging it to Ren’s tight quivering hole. Teasing both of them in tandem.

Who knew an apology could feel so good?

~To be continued~

Epilogue~

Glynda Goodwitch was a good professor, a good teacher. Why she was hiding in a broom closet of her own classroom, a toy still buzzing in her tight snatch while she watched and Ex-student fuck two of her current students in her own class room, was beyond her.

She hadn’t intended to be in this position, fingers pinching her nipples, furiously pistoning a toy in and out of her tight mature hole, she had only been relieving some stress when she heard them walking towards her door, quickly hiding out of sight and hoping they would leave. 

They did not.

Now she was touching herself to her tenth orgasm, watching Jaune fill up Nora’s ass for the third time of the night, fucking her up against the blackboard while his other loads leaked out of her used holes. 

Lia Ren’s barely conscious body covered in spunk, ripped cloth and some of Nora’s girl-cum from she Jaune had fucked the redhead while Ren ate her out. That one got the teacher good, nearly crying out in pleasure but holding back her voice.

She wanted them to keep going, or to leave, she couldn’t tell which.

Her body pressing against the doors as both she and Nora came at the exact same time, both of them quivering and going limp. 

The doors parted and she fell face first into her classroom.

Jaune passively looked over at her, the other two women hardly moving to the sudden person in their midst. 

Goodwitch and Jaune met gazes, eyes looking at each other, Jaune with impassivity, Glynda with surprise and lust.

“This- I- You-.”

“You turn next then?” Jaune asked. Stroking his still wet, jiz covered cock in front of her.

Glynda tried to look indignant despite her desire, the toy between her legs clattering to the ground. “That’s prepost- I’d never- How dare you!” Her words fell on a disbelieving face. “Yes please.” She finally muttered.

Crawling up to the mighty member before her and reaching for it to taste his salty viscus batter, she hoped he still had enough to put her as comatose as he’d made her students.


	3. Virtual reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of a three part ministory of how Jaune met all three of his new companions. The next two chapters will be Pale and then Harpy. This one is how Amber and Jaune first joined Atlas military academy and the struggles that Amber and Jaune faced at this new stage in their life.

Better than Ever Chapter 3.  
Virtual Reality - Rey

My body needs a fingerprint  
Every piece electrified  
Dance of danger in the sheets  
Requirement unsatisfied  
Come and jailbreak me  
Come and set me free  
Termination: Undefined  
Virtual Reality

Ironwood stood at the clocktower window, framed in the turning iron gears of Ozpin’s lighthouse, his mechanical hand pressed flat against the glass with his eyes foggy and distant. He could hear Qrow and Glynda arguing, Ozpin saying something but it was all so distant in the back of his mind.

“She’s just a girl, we can’t expect her to understand the gravity of this situation. Ms. Nikos is not ready for this, she hasn’t been stable and her grades are as sporadic as her test scores.” Glynda put her fingers at the bridge of her nose. “In her current state the maiden powers would reject her and who knows what would happen then?”

“We won’t know unless we try, no one is ever ready, Glynda. You know that just as much as I do.” Qrow countered. “We hand picked her and you told us she’s ready months ago.”

“That was before the Vytal Festival. Her simulation tests have dropped dramatically, she isn’t in the top ten percent of the class anymore.”

“What could be causing her to have such a dramatic drop?” Ozpin idly commented, face buried in his hand. “I don’t understand what changed.”

“Guilt.” 

Everyone turned to look at Ironwood, who still had his back to all of them. 

“James?” Ozpin prodded him to continue. “What are you not telling us?”

“What could Miss Nikos possibly have to be guilty about? She’s a perfect student, nothing has happened since the festival started, I can’t imagine a scenario that would cause such a dramatic change.” Glynda scoffed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Eyeing Ironwood with a certain amount of suspicion. 

“James?” was all Qrow asked.

“When Jaune Arc was expelled from Beacon I offered him a single chance, if he could make his way to Atlas military academy, he would be placed on a team and trained accordingly.” He started, Glynda almost stepping in to interrupt him but he continued. “I saw the way Miss Nikos treated him during the entrance exam when they were being placed into teams. I saw the way he took charge and led his team. I saw the will of someone who would do anything to prove themselves, but most of all I saw someone who could lead others, someone who made those around him better.” James turned around to face everyone, his features deathly serious. “I knew that given that chance he would become better than any tactician I’ve ever trained before.”

“Please get to the point James.” And exhausted Ozpin finally spoke. He was tired of the topical Arc being brought up at every galla or gathering, a point of shame for the headmaster. A Point of pride for the military general.

“The point is that when I saw Pyrrha Nikos was the one who turned him in, I knew her weakness was the opposite, she was no leader, she would be the one to sacrifice herself, others, anything for the greater good.” He paused seeing his point hadn’t set in yet. “It is very easy to die for one’s country, much harder to find someone so determined to live that they will fight until they give out from exhaustion first.”

“You brought Jaune here to point out the flaws in the Nikos girl.” Qrow surmised. “That’s low James.”

“I don’t want a child to have the maiden powers if they would lose it at the first sign of danger”

“So what? We should give it to your pet robot?” Glynda roared. “Of all the low down, greedy, underhanded!” She stepped towards the stoic general. There was barely contained rage boiling just under the surface. “You used that boy!”

Ironwood looked a little shocked at that statement. “If you think the only reason I took Jaune under my wing was to undermine Ozpin then you’re clearly not seeing the bigger picture here.” His hand coming around from his back as he closed the distance to Glynda Goodwitch, towering over her with his impressive stature. “I still remember the look Jaune gave me when he stood at the gates of Mantle. Clothes torn apart, shield nearly destroyed, sword dull. He stared me down and I saw a look in his eye and said without words that he did it, he wasn’t going to fail ever again.”

The room was silent, waiting for Ironwood to get to the point of this long winded story. “He told me he would be the best soldier in my army, the look in his eye made me believe him. I still do. Jaune Arc is currently leading a team of his choosing that rivals that of even my ace operatives. If the maidens could be men, Jaune would be my first pick and I’d refuse to take no for an answer.” Stepping past the Beacon professor he made his way around Ozpin’s desk and towards the center of the room. “I’m training Jaune not for the purpose of being a general of the Atlas army. I’m training Jaune to lead a special force against Salem. I want Jaune to lead the next generations of hunters, huntresses, maidens.” His gaze flickered over to Ozpin. “I trust his judgement. I trust his gut, his intuition. I brought him to the Vytal Festival to prove to everyone here, that he was more than worthy of that task.”

“James. That’s insane.” Glynda argued.

“For once, I agree with stuck up blondie over there.” Qrow confirmed. 

“You all thought he was worthless before and now has beaten every obstacle in his path, regardless of how impossible it might seem.” James turned back towards the glass and walked away from them. “Ask anything of him, he’ll prove himself time and time again.”

Ironwood stopped paying attention to them as they started to beg Ozpin to talk some sense into him. His mind was focused back on the memory of his first meeting with Jaune Arc. Back at the gates of Mantle, hearing his raspy breathing and seeing his determined gaze.

“Jaune arc.” Ironwood breathed, his breath fogging up the glass, the exact same way his breath fogged against the cold Atlassian air. 

“Ironwood.” Jaune growled. Kneeling on one leg though it was involuntary. His body obviously at its utter limit, exhaustion taking its final toll on him as he struggled to even stay conscious. Beside him a wolf faunus was helping hold him up. Looking at the guards, their guns and weapons and the tin man himself, James Ironwood. 

“I see you made a friend.” He commented idly. Beside Ironwood were the Ace Operatives, a young girl in a green dress with red curled hair, as well as a woman very clearly a Schnee. She must be Weiss’s older sister, Winter. “Take him to the infirmary and take her to the hospital, he will start classes after he has recovered.” Ironwood turned on his heel to leave.

“Sir!” Winter protested, clearly she had hoped that her general would reconsider letting the Beacon reject join their academy. 

“Amber is on my team!” Jaune roared. “She’s joining my team.” 

Ironwood stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at the now standing Arc.

The world faded away except for Ironwood and Jaune. The snow crunched under Ironwood’s boot as he turned on his heel. Looking over at Clover, the leader of his most elite team. Then back to the boy, still not even in Mantle yet. “Quite the request Mr. Arc. You’re lucky to be here, let alone bringing a wild girl from the wastes with you. I will give you a chance though.” Ironwood spoke with a deathly tone. “If you can fight Clover, right here, right now, I’ll let you both join, but if you lose I won't take either of you.”

“Sir?” Clover asked, a little shocked by the cruelty of the task ahead of the boy. He clearly hadn’t eaten properly in a few days, early stages of frostbite biting into his skin, injuries not properly bandaged. Clover would feel bad even fighting a grimm in this state. Let alone a boy who hadn’t even started his hunter training. 

“Is there a problem, soldier?” Ironwood’s tone was final.

“N-no sir.” 

“Good.”

Jaune readied himself, steeling any reservations he still had, the wolf girl trying her best to hold him back, obviously not wanting the Arc boy to hurt himself more than he already had.

“Jaune it’s fine, I can go back, really.” Her voice betrayed she didn’t want to, that she wanted more than anything to stay with him. 

“This isn’t just for you, I want you with me, you fought every step beside me to get here. I'm not abandoning you now.” He took a step forward, only stumbling a little. His eyes turning to stare daggers at Clover. Clover who hated to do this but knew that if he held back it would be an insult to both the boy in front of him and his general, ready to end this quickly. 

Jaune got his sword ready, when he found he couldn’t raise his shield he dropped it on the snow, gripping the sword with both hands. Clover didn’t even bother to bring his weapon out. Everyone watched, no one made a sound. There was no grand music, no epic score, no heroic march as Jaune charged the leader of the ace ops. He swung wild and missed horribly as the superior hunter dodged his strike. Stepping to the side with ease.

Another, miss.

Wide arcing swings that couldn’t connect with anything besides the ground. Clover’s fist didn’t miss though, just as Jaune swung widely past him, knuckles connected with skull and Jaune lost his footing, sliding hard against the icy pavement. 

“Jaune!” Amber called out, watching Jaune steady himself as he rose again.

“Come on, kid, stay down.” Clover sounded almost sad, like he didn’t want to be doing this to a kid who had so much heart. Jaune charged again, his swings were slower and Clover didn’t even bother hitting him this time, just pushing Jaune back, holding onto the handle of his blade and tossing the kid’s sword way out of reach. “It’s over.”

Jaune brought his fists up in a boxer’s stance, even if it was sloppy and he couldn’t actually protect his face with them. He swung wild, a haymaker that would have never hit, not in a million years.

But Clover felt something, felt a surge of aura enter him, felt powerful for only but a moment until he realized that he was actually projecting aura now. His semblance which until this moment he had only felt as a passive effect was working all around him, he looked only a little shocked, startled. His heel slipped on a patch of ice, he started to fall back, no balance, no traction. Jaune’s fist connected with his chest, honestly if Jaune had of hit his intended target, the man’s jaw, he might have done more than just simply knocked the man back a step or two. Clover was genuinely impressed even if the punch was really nothing to be impressed about. 

Unfortunately for Jaune the operative’s reflexes were too well ingrained, his left hand came up and closed the blonde boy's mouth shut with the palm of his hand, an uppercut that wouldn’t do any damage but did serve in knocking the Arc out cold. Clover stood there still a little rattled. 

“Your semblance, stole mine?” He paused. “No it… powered mine up?” He was confused about how it worked but somehow Jaune had benefited from the ace operative’s semblance without even realizing it.

Ironwood let a little sigh. “Good job, Soldier, I know that wasn’t easy.” He nodded and patted Clover on the shoulder when he rejoined his general. “Alright, take Mr. Arc away, the faunus too.” Ironwood turned to see some movement at Jaune's limp body before he was even done giving the order. Seeing this girl, Amber, posed protectively over her friend’s sleeping form, growling and keeping the soldiers away from him. “Girl, move.”

When Amber didn’t, Ironwood started to walk towards her, unholstering his gun and leveling it plainly between the wild woman’s eyes. Amber didn’t even flinch.

“Sir!” Clover stepped forward and put his hand on Ironwood’s arm. “That’s too far.”

“You’d risk your life for someone you just met?” Ironwood asked the fanus girl. “You can leave now, if you don’t I’ll make sure you end up in a cell… if you survive.” Everyone was deathly silent, no one knew what had gotten into their general, even Winter looked a little worried. She didn’t move. 

The trigger tensed. 

The gun lowered, everyone collectively let out a ragged breath they’d held in. “Take both of them to the school, I want them ready for orientation bright and early tomorrow.”

“Both, sir?” Winter asked.

“Both.” He assured her. “I didn’t say he needed to win, only to fight, and tell me Clover, he traded blows with you, that constitutes a fight doesn’t it?”

“He did sir.” Clover had a stupid smile on his face, knowing his commander had this all planned out, just glad luck seemed to be on the kids side for this one.

“Congratulate Mr Arc when he wakes up, will you girl?” Ironwood stopped, looked back over his shoulder. “Amber.” He corrected himself. “And welcome to Atlas Academy.”  
______

Jaune woke up to the sounds of a beeping heart monitor, faint voices and what sounded like robotic feet moving across grated floors. Something heavy was perched on his chest, maybe some weighted blanket? He tried to move but whatever was on top of him fidgeted and kept him pressed down.

"It's a medical mystery honestly, I've never seen aura heal wounds so severe." A gruff man's voice wurred like a machine, his voice traveling with the robotic legs. 

"His injuries were that bad?" Clover, the memory of jaunes pathetic fight with him came rushing back. "I saw him standing up and walking." 

"And I'm telling you that's impossible, the man you brought it was mostly flayed and burned skin, his aura was the only thing holding him together." There was a small haggard sigh from Clover before the deeper voiced man continued. "See? I did an x-ray when he first came in. Then… here's five hours later. I'd love to study the healing properties of his aura. It's beyond anything we've seen before." 

"Both of his arms reset in five hours?" Clover's voice was a little reverent, then full on aghast horror "he punched me with two broken arms?" 

The two men continued talking while jaunes eyes started to refocus. Gaze shifting down to look at whatever was on top of him. Two pointed wolf ears twitching against his breath, Amber only just waking up now, looking at him with her nose touching his. "Mooorning~" she yawned. 

Jaune's face turned a bright shade of crimson. "A-amber?!" His voice a more surprised high pitched yelp. Both clover and this new dark skinned man Ina robotic wheelchair rushed in to see Amber quite literally holding onto Jaune like she was a vest, nuzzling her nose into his neck with a sleepy affection. "Ah! Th-that tickles!" Her ears brushing against his nose. 

Clover just leaned against the doorframe and watched the jaune try to get Amber's thick wolf fur out of his mouth. "How’re you feeling, soldier?" 

Both Amber and Jaune looked over at him, Amber pushing herself off her friend making the scene look far more sexual than it evidently was. A cool breeze hitting Jaune hard, realizing the wolf girl was just keeping him warm, or using him to keep warm, the reason not entirely clear at the start. "Sore." He finally groaned. 

"Not dead?"

"Not dead." Jaune agreed. 

"Good then we're ready for orientation, if you can walk meet me out front if you can't we have crutches or a wheelchair in the waiting room." Clovers smile didn't betray the cruelty of his statement in the slightest. Jaune still felt like he'd just finished running a marathon and they wanted him up at Atlas already? 

"We're going up already?!' the ever energetic and excitable Amber looked at clover with stars in her eyes. "Can I fly the ship? Canicnaicnaicnai?" 

Clover stated at her for a short moment and decided against answering that, focusing more on Jaune. "Ironwood wants to meet you at the on site gymnasium. Best not to keep the general waiting." 

Jaune watched what he assumed would be his new professor walk out, past rows of sanitation drapes, the door closing behind him. It was real. It was really real. 

"So is that a yes?!" Amber called out after him. "Ima take that as a solid perhaps and casually bring it up while we're on the ship." 

"Have you ever flown before?" The deeper voice man asked. 

"Nah but it's probably no different than flying on the back of a nevermore." Amber shrugged. 

"A never… you're kidding. Right?" 

Amber looked at him for a long minute. "Is that like… weird?" 

Jaune couldn't hold back his fit of giggles, sitting up finally and snaking out from under the wolf above him. He was wearing his clothes minute shoes and jacket but noticed that his shirt had a good many holes in it even if the only making user the torn fabric were vaguely red scar tissue. He was amazed at how easily he was able to move. Was his aura really that strong? Obviously it was but it just felt so unreal, so super human. 

"We did get some other clothes for you, sorry if they don't fit, I only have a little girl and haven't been a young boy in a very long time." The man put a folded bundle of clothes on the bed bear Amber. "Pedro, by the way, it's a pleasure to meet the great Jaune Arc. Amber and Clover speak highly of you." 

"He's alright." Amber commented, taking jaunes clothes and looking them over herself while jaunes stripped right there, clearly neither he nor Amber were very shy about their bodies at this point, having spent the better part of two weeks traveling in the frozen tundra of Argos and atlas together. 

She looked at the white, blue and gold pressed dress shirt and dress best that went over. "You can hardly move in this!" She scoffed. 

"It's meant to look good, not be functional." Jaune laughed, taking the button up shirt and doing as the name entailed with it. 

"It's pretty great at one of those things. She tossed the jacket over her shoulder taking the belt in her padded fingers and looking it over, seemingly pleased she started to hand him each article of clothing after she had the proper time to inspect it and sate her curiosity. "Okay well it doesn't look too bad." 

Jaune was wearing black dress pants, a silver and gold dress vest with the same atlas colours as his shirt pressed hot inlaid the crest over his heart. It felt so weird to be wearing atlas colours, it looked so… proper. He was a country hic, he’d been living like a bum for weeks, even longer than before he met Amber, now suddenly he was meeting with the general and headmaster of Atlas military? It was a harsh, sudden shift that felt so unreal.

Amber on the other hand was wearing a old, very old grown man's button up, some jeans she'd cut off to be shorts somehow the cold never seemed to bother her, anyway, she clung onto the sweatshirt jaune had giver her, the one with the bunny design on the front, it was torn open making it less like a hoodie and more like a jacket but for all it's ruined glory Amber wasn't taking it off for the life of her. 

The two of them made a very strange pair.

The streets of mantle had Amber reeling, "I've never seen buildings this big! A floating island in the sky!" Her voice carried in the streets, people looking at her but none scowling or spiteful, the people of mantle seemed overall a fairly happy lot. Even if it wasn’t the most wealthy of places. Clover was waiting for them outside, a bundle of apples in his hands, giving one to either of the two new recruits. "What's this? Some root?" 

"It's an apple?" Clover raised an eyebrow, shifting on his heel to walk backwards, just narrowly avoiding five or six people, slipping past them without even realizing how closely he had almost hit them. "The fruit."

Amber got a dismissively defensive look on her feature. "Pfft yeah, I knew that, I was just.. uh testing you. Yeah, you passed." She chuckled nervously and leaned in to elbow jaune "think I fooled him, nailed it." 

"You're a master of deception." Jaune assured her with a healthy heaping of sarcasm. 

"Jaune one day I'll teach you everything I know, my young apprentice." She pat him on the back, looking way too proud with herself. 

"Heads up you two, lift is just up ahead, we're going to try and not make a scene, that means you Amber." Clover pointedly interrupted her before she could ask to fly the plane again. 

"I'm gonna fly that plane." She informed Jaune, like it was a sly little fact they could be privy to. 

"Why does the general want to see us?" Jaune asked him, stepping into the seating area and helping Amber strap into place, the girl far too curious about the inner workings and buttons, accidently pushing in her child safety lock with a 'hugk!' a seat belt tightened up on her. "I'm not getting expelled before I start am I?" 

Clover couldn't help but let a chuckle. "On the contrary, but you should really let the general fill you in on the details. For now enjoy the view." 

And holy shit what a view it was, seeing the white castle of Atlas breach the sea of clouds, warm sun says danced across it's enon iron and pallid marble. The faint idea of snow clinging to rooftops as streaming tails of steam came off each ivory tower. Seven or eight huge towers that made up the forms and classrooms standing out amongst the rich mansion and lavish suburbs, malls theaters. A massive city floating over an already in its own right massive city, the two beautiful in their own right. 

Jaune could feel Amber's hand clinging to his, both of them looking out at their new home. "Thank you." He finally said. " I never would have made it here without you." 

"Nope, but I glad you stumbled into my grove, I already can't imagine life any other way." Her head leaned on his shoulder. "We're in this together now." 

"Until the end." He assured her. 

_________

Arriving at the academy was a strange feeling, people milling around much like Beacon, groups of four to eight talking, playing, laughing. Jaune always pictured it to be more rigid and orderly but he was surprised to find it looking exactly like what he just left. He saw all kinds of people, young adults to seasoned soldiers, teachers and students alike. He saw faunus, humans, men, women, every Creed and nationality he could think of. 

Jaune must have worn his surprise on his face because clover just gave a little laugh. "Surprised?" 

"Yeah.." jaune just said dumbly. "I wasn't expecting Atlas to have so many different people." He felt embarrassed saying it out loud but his impression of Atlas had never been the most welcoming. 

"A few years ago and you might have been right, but the Grimm don't discriminate and warm bodies are better than cold ones." His voice was thoughtful, walking past a tall woman showing off a massive shield that was also a canon. "Ironwood changed the requirements for joining the academy, letting anyone, even if they were from Atlas, to enroll. Specifically he made sure to offer tutoring and catch up classes for anyone who didn't have past credits or an education that fit." He paused looking back at Amber who had stopped and stared at the large canon, shield "like Amber there. So even students who don't meet our requirements can, if they work hard enough to catch up, enroll." 

Jaune realized that must be why he was asked to join, letting out a heavy sigh. Ironwood was taking anyone with a pulse. 

That put a damper on things. 

Pushing past the main doors Clover lead them through winding halls, past students and teachers already in classes. "The new semester will be starting next week but all of the students have already arrived and are moving in. So you should be meeting everyone today." 

"So same as Beacon with teams of four right?" 

"We get to make two new other friends??!" Amber asked excitedly "I hope there's another faunus, someone with wings!" Amber having already begun planning fun games she can play with her new made up bird companion. 

"Yes, teams of four, two teams of two. But more than that the whole class acts as a unit, with a team leader that coordinates everyone, even if each team works independently, learning the chain of command is important and often teams will work together, so each team's leader reports to the captain." Clover explained, stopping at some registry and signing off on a clipboard.

" The same way we'd all report to you and you'd report to ironwood?" Jaune tried to understand.

"Exactly like that." Clover nodded and ruffled his hair. Jaune winced at the action. Amber just stared at it with big stars sparkling in her eyes, convinced she would want nothing more in her entire life than to have someone ruffle her hair.

Out of the corner of his eye jaune watched Amber try and scratch her own ears but clearly unsatisfied with the result. "Is it going to be as 'fun' as picking teams at Beacon?" Jaune asked with a shudder.

Clover just laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that, ironwood is much less 'fun' than ozpin, at least from what I've been told. But I should let the General tell you himself." 

Clover pushed the last door open and ushered the strange pair into a large auditorium. There were about twenty, maybe thirty people his age milling about and chattering. All looking as new students just like him, unfortunately for some poor soul they were a winged bird faunus which immediately got Amber's attention and had them running off to make friends. 

Amber would be fine, Jaune was more worried about the faunus. 

"Mr. Arc." Jaune turned around to see Ironwood coming through the door behind him. Clover saluted his general, jaune looked over and realized he probably should too, he attempted it as best he could. "Arm up higher, soldier, heels together, toes apart." Jaune turned beer red and at the advice, looking down at his feet and doing as ironwood suggested. "You'll get the hang of it." He assured the younger boy. 

"Sorry… sir?" 

"Sir is a good start, follow me." 

Leaving Clover, the older man sending him off with a wave, Jaune staggered after his new headmaster. "And where is Amber?" 

"I think she's introducing herself." Jaune tried to find his companion but couldn't spot her in the crowd of students. 

"And why weren't you?" Ironwood passed by the students who all took notice of him now, stopping their conversations to watch him. 

And by extension Jaune. Who stopped dead in his tracks.

"Do try and keep up Mr. Arc." Ironwood called out to keep him walking. Moving around to the stage at the front of the auditorium, putting everyone's eye level at Jaunes knees, making them look up at him. He kept behind ironwood as he got to the stage.

Everyone was looking at the two of them, Jaune felt so naked in front of all their eyes. He felt out of place, why did Ironwood bring him up here?! 

"Every day the Grimm get pushed back a little more." General ironwood started his speech. "We've pushed them from cities, roads, pushed them across continents, across oceans. Strays linger but for the average person Grimm are naught more than heard of on the news, conquests by valiant hunters."

The crowd was silent but there was an air of heroics and excitement amongst the soon to be hunters.

"A fairytale we tell the public." It shattered and everyone looked a lot less proud of themselves. "Every year we lose brave hunters and huntresses to these beasts, every yard of land is soaked in heroic blood. I will not nor will I ever lie to any of you. The Grimm are dangerous, monsters and you will risk your life with every encounter." He paused for dramatic effect. "If you want pretty lies, soft dreams of heroic battles and saving princesses." He paused again

"or princes." He added. "Then you can go to Beacon or Haven, there they will tell you that being a hunter is like being a rockstar, something fun you can do in your free time. Not here." 

Everyone was deathly silent now. 

"The life of hunters and huntresses is the most deadly profession in the world. But it is also the most rewarding." Everyone perked up at that, the mood almost instantly brightening. "Every child, every smile, every person who lives in a world without war, without violence, is because of you, because you stand between them and the darkness that wants nothing more than to see them dead. You are the blade that will strike down evil and the shield that protects those who cannot protect themselves." 

"Today you start that journey, and by the time you are done you will be members of the Atlas military. Hunters and huntresses of Atlas. Out in the field though, you will only be able to trust yourself and the person next to you." Which was of course the perfect Segway. "I'm sure you're all wondering how we will decide the teams you will be training with for your time here." 

He looked over his shoulder at Jaune at this point. "While in the field, your team leader will receive orders from a superior. To simulate this every class has a leader, someone who is picked to be in charge of every team, not just their own." Holding his hand out, Jaune thought for a moment he was pointing at someone behind him and looked over his shoulder. Then he realized Ironwood was pointing at him. "Your class’s leader will be this man, Jaune Arc." 

Everyone was a little stunned. It was clear no one had heard of him. Why should they? 

"Whoop whoop! Fuckyeah!" Amber called out from the crowd, her fist rising into the air before someone shushed her. 

Ironwood continued. "Mr. Arc will be taking the time to get to know all of you and decide teams accordingly. Additionally he has three spots open for his own team, of which he will be choosing the members himself." There was a murmur of confusion. "If you have any complaints you can bring them up with the disciplinary head, miss Winter Schnee." 

There were no more complaints. 

" I know this year will be a fine example of the best Atlas has to offer. Thank you." ironwood turned from the crowd and started to walk back the way he came.

"Alright everyone! Time to unpack, until teams are decided you will each have your own rooms. Follow me to the dorm!" Clover shouted, but Jaune was too busy running after Ironwood to be listening. 

"Iron-sir.. general?" jaune managed to stop him right outside the door. "This must be some kind of mistake." He huffed, a little out of breath, his brain going a mile a minute. 

"No mistake, solider." 

"I-im not a leader, I shouldn't even be here!" Jaune argued, feeling the entire weight of the world on his shoulders all at once. 

"Are you saying I have poor judgement then?' 

"No-" 

"Then understand I didn't give you a gift, Jaune. I gave you a terrible responsibility. You told me you would meet every requirement I set for you." There was a vague threat to that. Jaune found it unmistakable in his voice.

"O-of course sir."

"I have high expectations for you." Ironwood kept his stoic demeanor. Jaune looked down at his feet unable to meet his gaze. He felt torn between knowing he wasn't up to the challenge but also couldn't say no, so much stress and anxiety building up in his gut, it was so overwhelming. 

Jaune felt a hand on his shoulder, following to look at Ironwood’s more sympathetic softer visage. "I believe in you, Mr. Arc. Welcome home." 

Home..? Could this really be…

“Jaune!” Amber called after him, Jaune turning around to see her leaving with Clover.

With that Jaune had to turn back to Clover and leave to find his room so he could unpack. Unpack his single backpack, he had a long day ahead of him a long week… a long year now that he came to think of it. 

______ 

The last of his day consisted of fishing out he was going to be sharing a four bunk two table room with no one, being ushered around by an upper class man and showed where all of the classrooms, buildings were. It was pretty boring honestly, nothing special. 

Though he did get a wonderful meal at the lunchroom, it wasn't like the ramen and fish of Beacon, rice based dishes. All of the food here was based around root vegetables or imported fruits. Even wheat had to be shipped in from southern lands. So he had potatoes mostly, beats, carrots. Savoury meats, steak specifically with a side of thinly sliced carrots and potatoes lightly salted with basil and thyme. A nice sauce poured over that made his mouth water just thinking about it. 

The sun was setting over the white horizon, watching it dip behind snow capped mountains through the window of his room. He realized he hadn't seen Amber since orientation and thought about maybe going and looking for her. Still his legs were exhausted. He laid back flat against the bed and let out a haggard sigh. 

This was the first time he got to rest since he was kicked out.

The first time he's actually had a moment to himself.

Two weeks ago he was being called into Ozpin's office, now he was laying down as the leader of this entire class, able to decide his own team and responsible for every single student in his year.

Wow that came with a lot of anxiety. 

He rolled over onto his side. It felt like an entire lifetime ago but it really had been only two weeks since he’d been forced to leave Beacon, looking at his team as Glynda Goodwitch escorted him back to the dorms to pack his things. He remembered how Pyrrha and Ren wouldn’t meet his gaze. Nora looking around to see if anyone else was seeing him, but not stepping up to help him either. 

He passed by what he thought were his friends, Velvet, Coco, Sun, Mercury. None of them even so much as looked up from their books. What hurt more than anything was seeing team RWBY walking towards him along the path and all of them parting, avoiding his eye contact. His first friend Ruby only giving him a worried, unsure glance. He supposed he couldn’t blame any of them, they all knew he had lied, cheated, didn’t deserve to be there.

Letting out a small soft sigh, Jaune tried to push the thoughts out of his head, his present was stressful enough without thinking of the past.

Tap, Tap, tap!

A knocking on the door got his attention. Having changed into a plain white shirt and checkered pajama pants. He got out of bed, padding across the room in his bare feet, everyone should be in bed by now, everyone having been told to adhere to a strict curfew until their teams had been decided at which time their team leader would be responsible for setting their sleep and training schedules. By extension that also meant Jaune giving time frames for each and every team. Having done the math it looked like there would be five teams including his to keep track of, which was… well that was a lot. He opened the door, just a little at first.

Through its tenuous creaking maw, Jaune could see Amber looking back at him, still wearing his jacket but the same white shirt and pajama pants as him. “Amber?” He asked, a little confused.

Amber just leaned against the door frame. “Hey I don’t like my room, can I share yours?” She looked a little embarrassed to be asking, kicking her toe into the ground. “I can sleep on the floor or opposite side of the room?”

Jaune just smiled opening the door for her properly, he knew he could get in trouble for this, but figured that was a future Jaune problem. “You can take the bunk above me if you like.” He offered, loving the way her face lit up when he let her stay.

“Slumber party!” She roared stepping into the room, then covering her mouth realizing she was being loud said in a much quieter whisper. “Slumber party!”

Getting back into his bunk Jaune couldn’t help but smile, Amber always did a great job of making him feel better, always brought a sense of security to this wild ride. He was so lucky to have someone so important in his life, someone he could rely on so easily, even if they hadn’t known each other that long. 

He watched Amber get into her bunk, a little embarrassed to admit he took note of her bottom heavy fat jiggling ass bouncing as she tried to get into the bunk. Something he was aware of but hadn’t had too much time to focus on. When Amber finally got into her bed, a loud grunt and a heavy thud of her finally laying down, Jaune heard her adjust and saw her head lean over the edge to hang upside down looking at him “Hey Jaune?”

“Yeah?”

“Looking at my butt?” There wasn’t any judgement but like she was genuinely asking.

Jaune stared at her blankly before his face started to creep into a bright red tomato. “Wh-a?”

“My Semblance, you suddenly got all distracted and excited.” When she spoke a sly little cocky grin spread across her face. “plus I saw you looking.”

Jaune just tossed his pillow at her face, her batting it away even if the edge did smack her nose. “You’re the worst” He laughed, rolling his eyes. He’d learned the ins and outs of Ambers' slembace, it was pretty easy to understand. She could feel the emotions of people nearby, even better if she was touching them, and she could change their mood or force an emotion onto them. She couldn’t control someone but she could make someone upset or angry or happy just by touching them. Which was helpful but she also had to be feeling that emotion, so she couldn’t make someone happy without being happy and touching someone who’s sad makes it really hard to not feel sad herself. Almost all of her experience was working with Grimm so she really had no frame of reference for how powerful her Semblance really was. “You came in here just to tease me didn’t you?”

“Well duh.” She snickered, pulling her head back up and laying down now. “You’re fun to tease, besides everyone else here is a buzzkill. I thought everyone was going to be fun like you.” She let out a sigh that made her sound old and tired. 

“Rough day in paradise?” Jaune asked a little listless, realizing that she probably also had her own anxieties, going from living in the woods to a military school was probably a big jump for her, he hadn’t really even considered she might also be having a rough time adjusting. He wished he had a Semblance that let him read other people’s emotions, let him understand people.

“Everyone is just rude.” She huffed, and when jaune clearly waited for her to elaborate she rolled around above him. “Everyone was nice but I could just feel that they didn’t want me around, I’d go up and say hi and everyone was annoyed with me.” There was a tinge of sadness to her tone.

“Amber..” Jaune felt so lost, he’d never consoled someone before, his sisters, but they were easy, just give them some ice cream and they’d sort themselves out. “You just need to give them time, they’ll like you once they get to know you.”

“Yeah… maybe…” that didn’t do the trick, she sounded even worse off. Jaune could feel her negative emotions ebbing through the bedding, feel her sadness creeping into him. 

He couldn’t help it, like a feedback effect he could only think of his own day, feeling like he was failing Amber by just being here, bringing her from her home and putting her in the place that didn’t fit her at all, now she was miserable. Jaune felt like he wanted to cry, a shaky little breath escaping his lungs. It was the same thing as Beacon, he didn’t belong, he was just hurting the people around him by staying.

Somewhere deep in his mind Jaune recognised that his own depressive thoughts were affecting Amber right now, which only made him even more sad. That of course feeding off her now ever more present sadness. Honestly this was the downside of Amber’s Semblance, one of the things that kept her from living with people. Negative emotions were a tidal wave for her, that must be why she always tries to be so upbeat, always acts so happy even though Jaune had seen her leave their camp to go sit alone in the woods. She knows what her semblance can do, she knows if she lets negative thoughts into her head it just makes things worse for everyone else. Of course she was just bubbly by nature but Jaune could see sometimes that she’d get a vaguely negative emotion and just bottle it up. 

There was a question with all of that though.

Raising his hand up so that she could see it peering into view from the edge of her bed, he waved his fingers beckoning her to reach out and take it. He felt her fingers coiling in around hers, he realized he was the one trembling and when she felt it her second hand came to wrap around his. “I-I’m sorry- My semblance… I can go-”

Jaune cut her off. “I’d rather you be sad with me, than by yourself. I-I… here let me help, if I can.”

He knew that her semblance worked better with touch so he tried to focus on the palms of her hands, pushing past that dread and anxiety in his head. He thought about his mom, his family, dinners together. A small warmth growing in his gut he felt sad but it was a good sad, a longing for the warmth of home, remembering it fondly. It wasn’t enough though, he could feel it tinged with sadness. He tried to think of something truly happy, playing video games, sword play, the first time he had pizza.

He could still feel the ebb of sadness from her. He tried to focus, his own aura glowing at the tips of his fingers he drew on his first time meeting her. Waking up after being battered by a beowulf, he thought he had come to her rescue but really she was the one who had ended up saving him. Again he had woken up with her laying on top of him, keeping him warm after she had bandaged his wounds, It had been a pretty bad storm and she had taken him into a cave, holding him tight and fighting off the drafty winds with her unnatural body heat. 

How he had given her his jacket, how they had talked, gotten to know each other, how she agreed to take him to the next city because she liked talking to him. He thought of how wonderful and kind she was. Even now he dreaded the idea of losing her and held onto the feeling of being besides her. Jaune promised silently to make things work, to be the best friend she could ask for.

Crying, he heard crying. His own semblance faltered, dulling the waves of emotions washing over her. His hand tensed but she just gripped it harder. Moving above him he heard her get out of bed, getting onto the ground floor, still holding him tight, leaning over his bunk and looking at him with a bright wide smile and happy tears streaming down her face. “J-Jaune” She managed to cough out.

“Amber?” He asked a little worried.

She got on top of him, crawling into his bed and wrapping around him like a front backpack like she had so many nights before, cuddling against him and loving the heat coming off his form. “I haven’t felt goodness, kindness, happiness in so long, you’re so warm, so soft.” Jaune didn’t think the last one was a compliment but still couldn’t help but feel the love ebbing from her like waves. “Jaune let me help you.” She whispered, patting his hand, running her fingers through his hair. “I want to feel what you feel, happiness, sadness, everything. Give me all your feelings, I want to know you.”

“I’m never going to leave you Jaune, we’re in this together, you and me. If you’re sad I’ll carry your burdens, if you’re happy I’ll cheer right besides you.” Her grip around his head pulled him off the pillow and pushed his face against the soft pillowy surface of her bust. A little feedback spike of arousal shocking both of them, even if she pushed it under the surface. “I could feel you were upset, I-I don’t think I’ll understand, but let me feel it, I want to know you.”

“Amber… I..” He tried to keep the anxiety, fear, betrayal, sadness, from leaking through to her. “I’m here for you too!” Holding her tighter now, wrapping his fingers in her shirt and grabbing handfuls of it. “I’m going to make sure you have the best life I can give you, I’m going to make you smile every day no matter what, you’ll never be lonely again I promise!”

Her fingers pulled on his hair, her own chest quivering, the two of them both on the verge of tears, love, comfort, trust, respect, every emotion between them just magnified a million times over with both their semblances working overtime. It didn’t make them feel anything they weren’t already experiencing, just made it clear, made them understand the person in a way that words could never fully express. Every promise followed by the reassured feeling that the person meant it with their whole heart.

Finally he let himself feel something besides the happiness she brought him, letting his hurt soak his flesh. Thinking of Pyrrha, how hurt he was that she had betrayed him, of course he knew it was her. Thinking of ruby turning her back on him, the smug look of Weiss who seemed overjoyed to be rid of him. A shaky breath left his mouth, Amber holding him just a little tighter.

The anxiety and pressures on him, how lonely he felt, knowing no one and somehow suddenly needing to lead them. Worry about letting down the only person who cares about him here, Amber.

It all came to the surface.

She made short sweet soft noises in his ear. “It’s okay, you’re here now, I believe in you. I’m here for you every step of the way.” She assured him.

The gross ugly feelings passed, leaving him with the protected loving sense of the woman holding him. He really was lucky, he really was better off, So far Atlas was better than Beacon ever would be. He was safe here, loved, he had a future.

Most importantly he had Amber, and that was enough.


	4. Like real People do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pale's Chatper.  
> Hey before we start this is a lack of sex in this chapter, and I'm soorry but next chapter will make up for it I promise, I promise! But I really do like the story thats starting to develop here and I think everyone else is too. This is the Pale chapter so the story mostly focuses on the events going on between Jaunea nd Pale, but next chapter is harpy so we'll see the events between Amber and Harpy and get a few blank spaces that Jaune is unaware of filled in. I do think the ending implies something that isn't true but keep in mind that within a couple of months they're all happily in a relationship together so this small hiccup at the end will be paved over smoothly by the end of next chapter!
> 
> Besides that I really do love Writing better than ever and I have a lot of plans for this new story I have going on. And I'll be writing this fic for a long-long time to come!
> 
> ALSO ALSO I got artwork of Pale commissioned so I'll put that here before we move to the story proper, I love her with my whole heart and cannot wait to hear what you think of her chapter!

[](https://imgur.com/yZEPMuQ)

Better than Ever Chapter 4  
Like real people do - Hozier 

The bugs and the dirt  
Why were you digging?  
What did you bury  
Before those hands pulled me  
From the earth?  
I will not ask you where you came from  
I will not ask you, neither should you  
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips  
We should just kiss like real people do.

“James you can’t be serious.”

“Deathly so.” Was his only response to the ever emotional Glynda Goodwitch. As much as she prided herself on her reserved put together nature she broke down the second it was a child in danger, always did. “Jaune Arc is proof not only of how we as teachers have failed these students but our own ignorance to the opportunities laid bare before us.”

“You’re talking pretty big for someone who doesn’t know if his plan is even going to work.” Qrow brought up, sitting down on the floor with his flask in hand, sitting with his back against the desk. “You expect Salem to bend the knee because a beautiful blond boy bats his pretty twink eyes at her? Trust me if good lucks would have won this war, I’d have had us home by christmas years ago.”

“Please take this seriously Qrow.” Glynda growled. “And stand up, this isn’t your living room.”

“My living room is nicer than this.” 

“I’m not suggesting we send in Arc’s team to their deaths. No. I have bigger plans than that.” Ironwood paced away from the clockwork window, thinking back to the weeks after Jaune’s first night at Atlas, how he has separated himself from everyone, only going to classes and his mandatory meetings with other students. He was still a b- student and a borderline failure as a soldier but every time Ace or Hariet knocked him down, he got up with that same fire of determination, a look towards Amber and then back into the fray.

“Jaune isn’t a fight like you or I Qrow.” One of his hands came from behind his back, rubbing over the rough freshly shaven texture of his chin, maybe he’d grow a beard? A thought for another day. “Jaune Arc isn’t the solution to all of our problems. His semblance is.”

“Jame what could you possibly mean by that?” Ozpin was leaning on the table now, a growing annoyance in Ironwood’s self righteous babbling taking a toll on his seemingly endless patience. “If there was a semblance in his world that could hurt Salem I would have used it to defeat her a thousand years ago, your Semblances aren’t stronger than my or the maiden’s magic.”

“I am well aware of that, Ozpin.” His tone didn’t waver, it was so deathly calm, so intent and sure that it honestly made everyone else in the room pause with a sense of unease. “But what if Jaune arc could use his endless Aura to fuel and increase the power of the Maidens?”

“That…” Glynda started but realized she didn’t know if it was possible or not.

“So we hook him up like a battery?” Qrow joined in.

“Perhaps not stated so bluntly but, in essence, yes. Mr. Arc only knows that I have picked him to lead the special unit that will have the Maidens in it. I have my best scientists working on ways of connecting his aura to theirs.”

“What you’re suggesting is barbaric.” Ozpin warned, tone getting dark.

“More barbaric than training children to fight a war?” A pause Glynda and ozpin both readying their prepared debate to that age old topic. “More barbaric than keeping a maiden alive in some god awful machine just so we can kill her ourselves? What About Qrow and Raven?”

“What about me? I’m fine.” Qrow retorted.

“Qrow you’re a barely functioning alcoholic with mommy issues.” Glynda answered, a little ashamed she was agreeing with Ironwood even just on this subject. 

“I heard functioning and that you want me to call you mommy.”

Ironwood cleared his throat. “The things we do, the things we have to do, to survive, to push Salem back… They are necessary evils that we have chosen to burden because we can make the hard decisions. Let Jaune lead the Maidens, we can finally fight back, after all these years we have a chance.”

When Ozpin didn’t seem impressed. 

“We have hope, Oz.”

Ozpin looked up, and James was happy. There it was, gleaming behind those glasses, the smaller glimmer however reluctant, of home behind those melancholy pupils.

________________________________________

Why did bettering yourself feel like dying?

Jaune had to wonder why anyone in their right mind would go through as much exercise as Amber did. They joined a gym not to far from the academy with the goal of Jaune into shape and letting Amber stretch her legs, being cooped up in the tall long hallways of atlas was driving her a little passed insane. He did put his foot down about letting her go for a run in the tundra but.. Well a gym membership seemed fine, someplace away from the school where he didn’t have to worry about feeling like he was being watched. 

Eyes seemed to follow him wherever he went.

Here, though, he had a certain amount of peace, only a few students, who equally didn’t want to have the prying eyes of other classmen watching them, came to this place. Jaune was looking up past the bar rising and falling above his face, sweat pouring over his face and clouding his vision but clearly making out the curve of Amber’s bust that gave way to her perky smile looming over him. 

“Just a few more!” She cheered on. “Forty three! Forty four- four!” She stuttered as his arms shook. “Fifty is right there!”

She was great, her enthusiasm sunk into him even if he ignored her semblance, she was just a beaming ball of encouragement that pushed him to lift that iron bar far from his face, lowering it slowly with a harsh groaning exhale. Forty eight, forty nine. 

With a roar of effort he pushed up the final stretch, feeling his arms give their last bit of energy, straining to finish his titanic task. 

“You did it! Fuck yeah!!!” Amber cheered, wrapping one of her hands around the bar and lifting it from his grip, he felt a little embarrassed by how easily she just took the weight from his arms, effortlessly putting it back into place, making a hundred fifty pounds look like putting away folded laundry even as Jaune was dying with his noodle arms exhuasted, laying in his own sweat on the bench. 

“You make that look so easy.” He bemoaned. 

“I make everything look easy.” She teased, leaning against the bar with her chin resting on her palm, looking down at him, the line of her cleavage on full display through her loose tank top and sports bra. “You’re doing a lot better than when we first started though.”

She reached down and poked his nose. “You might want to get better at not staring though.” She winked at him. 

Jaune felt red rush to his cheeks, turning his head away with a wry little giggle from his companion. “Hey I’m just warning you for when you start talking to some of the girls in class, better to not be so obvious about it.” She snickered.

“Can we not talk about this?” He tried to sit up but his arms could barely support himself, Amber reaching over to prop him up, at least until he was sitting up right. “I really don’t need dating advice right now. If you want to give me advice on how to catch up with you in a few days, I’ll take that though.”

“I’m still pretty sure it has something to do with sneakily looking at boobs.” Amber nodded thoughtfully.

Jaune waved his limpy noodly arm, still very sore, at her and struggled up to his feet with only a mild amount of shake to it. What was it about exercise that made him want to die? At least he wasn’t going it at school, He’d seen the best of his year, athletic demigods like Pyrrha and Yang that could probably lift cars if they really put their minds to it. Jaune couldn’t keep up, hell he was barely lifting half of what Amber could.

He remembered vaguely a lesson about Aura being able to strengthen a person’s body, giving them the ability to perform great feats of strength… Jaune just guessed he wasn’t particularly gifted in the aura department.

“Wanna do squats next?” Amber asked with eager excitement, even if the idea did take years off of Jaune’s life. He was exhausted. They’d been here for an hour already and Jaune was more than aware of the fact Amber was slowing herself down so he could keep up, but the fact she was constantly up for more and even harder exercises, was both amazing to keep him in shape. While also being horrible because there was never a point Jaune didn’t feel like he’d vomit up a lung.

"Amber, I cannot express how much I don't want to do that." Leaning his head back and wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

Amber just shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder. "Chicks will never dig you unless you have a rockin bod, Jauney." 

He put his hand over here and gave his partner the most serious, honest expression he could muster. "You need to stop watching daytime television." 

"You can't separate me from my soaps Jaune, I'll burn this place to the ground, I swear I'll do it." Amber smirked and outer the top of her head against his cheek, nuzzling into him.

Jaune just shook his head, a bright smile across his face, arm wrapped around her shoulder. The moment sweet, a good break from the hectic hellfire of his new life at Atlas. Ruined entirely by an aggressive grunt from the boxing ring at the other end of the gym.

The stretching sound of rubber echoed in the small room, one of the two people in the ring falling back against the ropes and waving his hand, tapping out of his encounter. The other participant obviously working out some deep seeded issues with the level of aggression she was throwing into her punches. She wasn't even wearing gear, opting instead to just use the gloves to cushion her blows.

"Oo who is she?" Amber marveled. Indicating to the more aggressive of the two combatants. A girl with green and purple hair, mostly neon green with a streak of lavender through it. Her nose pierced with a small stud, which Jaune wondered if she should take out at the gym? If she should, she obviously didn't care. Her slender face was small, her whole stature on the shorter side, maybe the same height as Amber.

She wore a loose black tank top that did little to hide the black sports bra and white wrapping she had on under. Her hands and arms up to the elbow were similarly wrapped in bandages to keep her hands from cracking and droning blisters. She had on impossibly tight black leggings, if Jaune didn't know any better he'd think she was in the middle doing a photoshoot for new gym wear. In fact she had a popstar sort of feel to her with her neon bubblegum aesthetic. Her dark tanned skin so abnormal for the people of Atlas she couldn't help but stand out.

Jaune knew her though. He'd read her file, she was a student. Well a delinquent really. 

Harpy. 

No last name, no first name, just whatever she gave the juevinal detention center before she was picked up and brought to Atlas to teach her 'discipline'. If it wasn't for her perfect physical scores Jaune would have suggested they just throw her back into a detention center. Sixteen fights in the first three weeks since she'd gotten here. Refusal to take lessons, her academic scores were worse than his, bottom of the class. Which was really saying something.

"I'd just avoid her." He offered to Amber. "She's bad news."

"Jaune. My family before you was Grimm." She reminded him to which he really didn't have an argument. For only a moment he wondered why Amber even cared? But then again Amber wasn't ever wrong when it came to people, maybe there was more to the raging punk than Jaune originally saw. "Imma fight her."

Or maybe Amber just wanted someone who could keep up with her. Jaune rolled his eyes and waved her off. 

"Don't hurt her too bad." He warned. Though looking at them Amber, the sweetheart she is, hardly ever hurt a fly. Even when they were running from Grimm, she would just make the beasts calm while they passed by rather than fight them directly.

Meanwhile Harpy had one of the best physical scores of the class, maybe in the school's history. The only people who had higher entrance combat scores were Winter schnee, clover and less students than he could count on one hand, maybe two? 

Jaune thanked the stars for Amber giving him a break, he'd probably head home and ruin all this progress by eating a bag of chips.

He stood up, legs quivering only a slight tremor. Hand reaching for his water bottle, fingers wrapping around its neck. Then Amber put her hand over his, which shouldn't have made him blush with how often her entire body was pressed against him, how often they slept in the same bed. But it was the way her perfect eyes gleamed down at him. 

"Hey." She said, voice more earnest now. "You did really good today, I'm proud of you." 

Cheeks turning a deep red, he avoided her eyes, looking anywhere else but finding the ground instead. "I- uh"

Realizing he had no idea how to take compliments he just stammered out sounds until Amber just smirked and poked his nose. "Don't eat my chips or I'll piss in your cereal." 

With that very vivid threat Amber was off, leaving Jaune with only the faint memory of her fingers on his skin. What faded sweet sorrow, on one hand the only thing that made being here bearable, the only person he could trust in the entire world, walking away and leaving him to his own thoughts.

On the other hand he got to watch her walk away, the sway of her butt elegant in it's sashe.

On top of the fact he no longer had to stay in this fucking gym.

He cleaned down the machine he was working on and headed towards the showers. Mostly just to change out of his gym clothes and put on some better deodorant. Putting on a loose fitted long sleeve, collars Atlas shirt, doing up the top three buttons, filling out the loops of his black jeans with the rigid length of his belt, his fingers running through the long locks of Blonde tangled hair. Shaking the sweat out of his features and splashing some water over his face, Jaune slapped his cheeks and looked at himself in the mirror.

His cheeks seemed slimmer than the last time he’d really studied himself, shoulders wider, he was even taller than he remembered being. Maybe Amber working him to the bone was actually doing him some good afterall? 

Exiting the locker rooms he eyed the lobby of the gym building, it had a fairly plain reception area, checking in, a receptionist, even had some of those healthy foods, high protein cafes. Health food made Amber want to barf, so Jaune had never even tried their stuff. He figured it was horrible, it always was.

That was one of the things people never tell you about depression. It does always hit the same or even take on the same form. Jaune had a great person in his life and honestly was on the rise, better than he was ever going to be at beacon. Trauma liked to cling to a person, mistrust, bitterness, that took weird shapes. It was food for him, it all tasted bland, ugly gray blobs of tasteless paste. It didn’t matter if it was a hamburger or cheese, salad, fruits, steak. Everything just melted together into this horrible soup. 

Maybe he should talk to someone? He didn’t think of himself as really that bad, sure he might not have been as excitable, maybe that was a good thing, being so immature was what got him here after all. There were people who needed it more, besides he wasn’t really -depressed- just… empty. 

An emptiness that he would now fill with slightly more than average healthy protein shake.

One overly expensive translation and a curious discussion about the difference between seaweed based and seaweed infused, regardless it didn’t matter. In a matter of minutes he was sitting down at a table watching people walk by outside through a glass window. The people of Atlas were such a strange bunch, well strange in how completely ordinary they were. It felt so much like Beacon, like Vale, like Argos when he visited his sister. 

It felt like watching them through a tv. Like the world moved through a screen so distant and irrelevant. Like he was in a world separate from theirs. Especially without Amber besides him, he felt so discounted from humanity as a whole honestly.

Jaune’s eye caught some movement to his left. His head turned over to see someone turning their head to look away from him. He blinked, the person, a woman, was tall with white hair, someone he’d almost mistake for a Schnee if not for her impressive stature and wider figure. She was maybe 6ft, her hair done up into a long braid that even still made it down past the chair she was sitting on. It was clear she had been looking at him and just turned her head away when he caught her staring. 

W-why was a woman like her staring at him? 

She was pretty, slender face with angular cheekbones, her hair swooping over one eye in that seductress Jessica Rabbit sort of way. Wide hips with a plush rear that hugged her chair nicely. A heavy set top, she was built perfectly like an hourglass. Though her middle wasn’t nearly that thin, more of a womanly thick shape that gave her a softer figure. Not to mention her striking blue eyes and snow white skin. Her dress was not really fitting for a gym, not ‘dress’ as in ‘attire’, but literally a dress. She was wearing a white summer dress with a blue wave pattern on it, the hem was a little small so she wore long cream coloured leggings covered with purple and lilac patterns of lilies across them, which swung back and forth with her feet kicking idly. Now she was nervously trying to pretend like she hadn’t been leering at him from just two seats away.

Jaune just turned his head away, back towards the window, taking a sip from his glass. But he noticed her head turn to look back at him the second his gaze was no longer directly on her. What was this girl’s problem? Still though she seemed at least mildly familiar, he realized. She’d been working on a few machines just vaguely in view, mostly the treadmill or elliptical. She’d been wearing something different so he hadn’t noticed until now.

But he knew her from somewhere else too.

Amelia Pale. Middle child of the rich and noble Pale family. One of the more respected houses of the local Atlas elite. He’d read her file when he’d been given the whole classes. Now he realized why she reminded him of a Schnee, she was just like Weiss. Holier than thought Atlas nobles, so much better than low class scum like him. 

She was probably here to see if she could find any gossip that she might spread behind his back, like there wasn’t enough of that to go around already.

He tried to ignore it and just focus on his drink, refusing to give her anything to work with. She just kept looking at him though. It felt like an hour; it must have been only a minute before she finally got up, Jaune realized he was sweating.

“Did you want something?” He asked with an idly tilt to his tone. 

That seemed to startle her, making a show of sipping her drink but she didn’t look away when his head turned to face her this time. “Me- I-”

“Amelia, right?” He raised a lazy eyebrow. “We’re in the same class.”

“I-I know that, I was just making sure it was you.” Her voice wavered a little, like it was obvious that there was more to that. When he didn’t reply, keeping his eyebrow raised she sort of melted back into her seat, defeated. “I was trying to think of how to start this conversation…”

Jaune couldn’t help but feel his mouth curling into a grin. She was cute.

NO.

He tried to steel himself, turning his head away, no he wasn’t some simp, he wasn’t going to start crushing on some Atlas girl. Especially not some high school princess like he had over Weiss.

Jaune cleared his throat into the back of his hand, looking back at her with the smirk cleaned from his face. “Well, you got me. Well for as long as this shake is still around, what do ya want to talk about?”

There was a distance to his words, keeping himself away from getting too attached in any way. He wanted her to know they were going to stay acquaintances, he didn’t have room for friends now after Beacon. 

Pale just tilted her head to the side, like she was trying to read him. He didn’t know but she was in fact more observant than a wooden sign and could clearly tell he was wrestling with something, trying to keep her away for some personal reason. Concern spreading across her face even if it was only the most mildest sense. “Well… We’re classmates, we should get to know each other. You will have to interview me at some point to see what team I should be on.”

“Yeah, I suppose I will, trying to get on my good side so I put you on a good team?” There was a little edge to his voice that he hadn’t intended on.

Jaune grew up with enough sisters to know what her raised eyebrow meant. She was trying to read him, see if he was upset or just temperamental. Like he was some toddler and she was deciding how best to handle his bad mood. It was the same thing with his sister's, sometimes he'd just want to be left alone and they would look at him trying to figure out what thing besides them was causing this issue.

"I wouldn't say that. More like, I'm trying to get on your good side, and I hope I like my team, the two are certainly exclusive though." Her smile was disarming. So unassuming, like there wasn't a world where she didn't have a motive for being nice to him. 

Maybe this was a test from Ironwood? Giving him power knowing that others would try to use him for that power.

"I'll have your interview soon, so I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure there is a perfect team for you." He tried to sound as professional as possible. Keeping his monotone level. 

"And what about you, have you found your team yet?" She took a sip from her drink leaning over the counter in front of them and making a face at the bitter shake. 

Jaune had to admit he was a little thrown off, the question directed to his own team, something he hadn't even remotely thought of, of course he was going to pair himself up with Amber, but there hasn't been much thought besides that. Though the other thing throwing him off was the sudden shake of the wall mounted ledge, Amelia's chest making the wood shake as her weight shuddered against it. The boy was embarrassed to admit his gaze drifted down towards her tight sports bra, pushing her heavy set chest together, barely hidden by the plain white tee shirt that did little more than offer a semi translucent sheet between his eyes and her milky white flesh.

"Well no.."

"You and your girlfriend aren't on the same team?" She seemed genuinely surprised, though Jaune was a thousand times more so. 

"Girlfriend??" A heat rushed to his face, turning his head away so she wouldn't see the creeping red across his cheeks. "N-no Amber and I are just friends!" 

Amelia laughed it off, her soft laugh had a little tilt to it, a heart belly laugh that sounded like music. Still jaune couldn't help but feel annoyance creeping over him, she was laughing at his embarrassment, fucking… she played him so easily. 

"I didn't even bring Amber up, are you sure you don't like her?" She sounded like a highschool girl gossiping about boys in one of Amber's shitty soap operas. 

"I- well.." he was trapped.

Something touched his head, her slender pale fingers running through his hair like she was softly petting a dog. "I didn't mean to tease you so much." There was a pause. "You're cute when you're embarrassed though."

Jaune tried to even form a thought.

Tress….

He wasn't sure what it meant but it was the only word going through his mind, the only thing the two remaining brain cells In his skull could formulate.

Her hand retracted and she stood up, shaking her empty bottle and letting out a contented sigh with a long stretch, showing off her perfect wide hips, her stomach that fit her thicc frame so perfectly. "I should get going though. You'll be here tomorrow right? We should work out together." 

That coy catlike smile never left her face, like she was so utterly pleased with herself.

"Y-eah, b-bye." Was all he managed to stammer out when she left. 

What the fuck was that??? Trees?? Really? He chided himself. He should have swatted her hand away or looked at her like the crazy person she was. A leader wouldn't let anyone below them treat a superior like that. 

Though the idea of Winter Schnee patting General Ironwood like a dog did strike a certain ironic cord that made Jaune smile. He quickly wiped it away, feeling so utterly ashamed of himself and at the same time a little scared. She was so good at working him, if she wants to embarrass him in front of everyone like she just had, she could, couldn't she? Then it would be like Beacon all over again, with him a laughing stock, someone that was meant to be the butt of everyone's joke.

There was something else though. His hair felt nice. He reached up and put his hand where hers was, a red creeping across his cheeks again. That hadn't been horrible, he supposed.

________________________________

Jaune didn't stay at the gym that much longer. Just enough to finish his shake and get back home, thoughts of classes and strategy, running over some wargames that Ironwood had given him the day prior. His mind often wandering back to Amber and now this new addition to his life, Amelia Pale.

He checked his scroll, this was later than Amber was normally out. Not by enough to be worried but there was a hint of nervousness to the tapping of his pen against his desk. While some might be worried the gruff and aggressive Harpy had maybe done some damage to the smaller, more affectionate Amber, that wasn’t what Jaune was worried about at all.

Images of Amber behind bars, trying to explain to Ironwood and Winter that it was an accident, flickered through Jaune’s mind. He had seen that wolf girl fight and knew exactly how unholy her strength was, she was a demon. Jaune dreaded the day she started weapon training. 

Jaune looked over the notes he’d taken, notes on test scores, mock combat scores, knowledge of semblances. He was trying to pair teams based on how well they would do together, some were easy, some were harder but made sense when they were pieced together. He’d come up with two teams but looking at the rest made his brain hurt, it didn’t help that He and Amber hadn’t been properly tested and admitted on ‘recommendations’. The best academic scores were a Hayden, the best combat scores were Harpy. Which Jaune guessed would be overshadowed by Amber in minutes. 

He obviously put himself and Amber together but the idea of adding Harpy to his team was mind bogglingly stupid, he wouldn’t trust her to watch his lunch let alone with his life. His mind wandered to Pale but her significantly above average test scores were crossed with equally significantly lower combat scores. He considered briefly a few others, someone who would ignite things they touch, someone who could turn their aura into a physical shield. There were those who were better at ranged combat which would benefit Amber’s physical style. He tapped his thumb against his pen to add a little noise to the dull room.

Then again what did he really bring to the table? It felt weird to build a team around him without considering what he added to it. He was thinking about how to make Amber stronger or make up for her slight weaknesses, but in reality he was just taking up a spot on a team and making it so he had three overachieving teammates rather than trying himself.

He settled on putting another team together, but then scrapped two instead leaving only one together. There was also the problem he felt bad for putting anyone with Harpy. She was dangerous, not just to grimm but it seemed to everyone. She was a hazard, maybe he’d talk to Ironwood about that specific difficulty. 

The door to their room opened up with a slow long creak, Jaune didn’t even look up from his notes, only noticing it in his periphery, “Hey Amber how was training?”

“Good I suppose.” Amber sounded a little winded, maybe wistful. 

That got Jaune’s attention, he looked up to see Amber a little red in the cheeks, like she’d been running, a little out of breath too, his brow furrowed and then they raised in mediocre surprise. He’d seen what a crush looked like before. “Amber.. You… uh.”

It was also the way that her semblance worked. He could feel the warm fuzzy feelings of that budding romance wafting off her in waves. 

“Did you have a good time training?” He finally finished, a sly little smile on his face, sure he was hoping she’d say she met someone else besides Harpy but there was part of him that had a feeling this was brought upon by the delinquent.

There was a part of him that was melancholic about the whole thing, some little jealous nagging thing in his brain that didn’t want to share Amber with anyone. Even if he was happy for her ultimately. 

“It really was amazing!” her voice sung with the tune of a lullaby, she was practically angelic in her response, mind still somewhere else.

“Yeah? Maybe I was wrong about her, tell me about it, how’d it go?” Jaune felt like a schoolgirl, which he supposed Amber was, talking about their fancy date with a little bit of giddy excitement.

Amber turned to him with stars in her eyes, hands coming up to her chin in balled fists with too much energy for her little body to handle. “It was amazing, we started sparring and it was really boring at first but then she kept getting faster every time she didn’t hit me. I could just, like, feel her getting madder and madder!” It was ‘angerier’ but Jaune didn’t want to correct her. “And then she got me, just right on the cheek!”

She thrust her fist forward for emphasis, showing how Harpy gave her a right hook. Jaune was honestly just waiting to hear about how this turned romantic, his face growing more and more concerned as Amber continued. 

“And like, it was like, like-” She stuttered trying to get the words out, “I- When I fight and it all just goes white right? But it didn’t go white, I just felt a little light headed, like all those feelings just vanished."

"Wow that's really interesting." Jaune was s earnest about that, he'd seen her eyes glaze over whenever a Grimm attacked her, it was why he called her a demon.

"And then I punched her in the face!"

Jaune blinked twice. Huh. Maybe the warranted more of a reaction from his part. Or perhaps a less excited reaction from her. 

"Jaune I learned so much from that, it was like seeing a whole different person!" 

"R-really? How so?" He wasn't sure if he should be excited or not. 

"There's so much about her I just never knew! And then after she hit the mat, she got back up!" Which also surprised Jaune, he'd seen the things Amber punches when she gets like that, and he'd yet to see one actually get back up. "And then she hit me in the face!"

Again that probably warranted less excitement in her part. 

"And she thinks I'm cute!" Amber pressed her palms to her cheeks practically jumping for joy like a schoolgirl with a crush. Which Jaune supposed she was, to be fair. 

"Huh, normally hitting someone in the face is not something you do to someone you like." Jaune waved his hand in the air, letting her go on but returning to his notes, obviously Amber had fun and that was all that mattered. 

"But the more we spared the more I felt this growing heat from her, like when you look at my boobs and think I don't notice." This time she sounded more thoughtful, almost wise, if one could sound wise while talking about boobs.

"I don't… Amber." Jaune huffed. "Are you sure that heat wasn't anger?"

"Jaune are you jealous?"

"Your semblance tell you that?" Jaune smirked and looked over his shoulder to see her closer than before.

"I don't need a semblance to see what's bothering you." Her voice was low, that same time from their first night here. It brought the smile from Jaune's face down to a frown. Her chest pressed against his back, she could probably feel the way that affected him but there was a warmth wafting off her, it was calm, welcoming. "I'm not going anywhere Jaune, it will always be me and you."

"I know." There was a pause even as he nodded, her chin pressing into his head, rolling so her lips were against his scalp. "I just… I want you to be happy, make friends, if you like Harpy.."

"That doesn't mean I'll like you any less." Of course that was obvious, but we'll, part of him likes her, they were best friends but he liked, liked her, he thought at least. His only reference was his silly crush on Weiss, Jaune honestly wasn't sure how liking someone really felt, but he was sure he loved Amber even if it was just as a friend. Maybe he was jealous… 

"Jaune you think I'm cute too?" She practically purred teasing him. But held him steady as he tried to pull away out of embarrassment. "I think you're cute too.."

Jaune froze.

"You do?" There was some measure of utter disbelief. Amber was drop dead gorgeous and such an amazing person, he was just him.

"You're nice." She concluded which made him ease up a bit. "Nice is a bare minimum, you're more than that though, it's that I know you'll be there tomorrow, you won't leave when things get hard or I say something silly. You smile just to make me smile and you're always thinking about making my day better." Her hands weaved over his chest, wrapping around him and holding him close. "You're warm, inside and out, you want to make the world a better place even if you don't want to let that world in. You don't look at me like a freak just because I don't get people." 

Jaune felt like he might cry, he could feel it just as he heard it. Amber was telling the truth. "You're lonely but you still go out of your way to make me feel welcome." 

Which was of course the final conclusion. Jaune tried to keep tears from spilling over, a hand coming up and wrapping around hers on his chest. She gripped his palm tight, she was there, she wasn't going anywhere. "Amber you're really good at being sweet when you're not acting dumb" 

She laughed a little at that, both of them smiling. 

"Says the biggest dummy I know." She kissed the top of his head against but melted more into their impromptu hug, annoying the warmth and shared feeling of love and respect. "Besides I can tell you don't just like me because I like to push my boobs against you." 

That got a little flare from him, she snickered in his ear. "Teasing, of course." She squeezed his hand tighter. "I like that you like me, because of why you like me." 

Jaune wasn't sure if he understood, but he didn't really need to. "I do really like you Amber." a small confession. "A lot." 

“Took you long enough to say it out loud.” She snickered, her hand not in his coming up to run through the shaggy locks of his long hair. “You know, you and Harpy a lot of like, in a lot of more ways than just that.” 

Jaune tilted his head upwards so that her chin was resting on his forehead and he could look up at her. “You think so?” He couldn’t think of a world were he and harpy were anything alike. “I don’t uhh.. I don’t think she’d agree with you.”

“I don’t need my semblance to know you to feel the same.” Amber stuck her tongue out at him. “You have a lonely look in your eyes, I saw it the first time you looked at me out in the tundra. I see if every time you look at someone new. I see it when Harpy glares at me too.”

Jaune didn’t think that was a good thing, he was in a really bad place when he first met Amber, sure he wanted to help her but there was a hatred for everyone inside him. Still he had good reason to be cautious, it was girls like Weiss and Pale, Harpy and Pyrrha that got him here after all. That ruined his life and forced him to this frozen hell, they ruined the way he looked at people. There was still that lingering mistrust, the way that he looked at people changed the second he walked out of the gates of Beacon.

“I just don’t think I see her the way you do.” was all he managed to say. How could he, he couldn’t look at her without seeing another knife ready to gut him the second he exposed his back.

“I’m not asking you to invite her to dinner. Just try and be friendly.”

Jaune raised an eyebrow “Why would I need to be friendly?” and Amber avoided his gaze even taking her chin off of him and separating. “Am- Amber, why would I need to be friendly?”

Amber turned away with her ears pointed straight up into the air. “ Well I may have talked her into training with us tomorrow if I beat her in our little match.” 

One Blink, two. “S-” He stuttered and stopped. “You… do you want to run that by me again?”

“I just thought she’d be fun! Jaune have you seen her butt?! It’s massive!”

“Amber I don-” He had noticed. “You didn’t think about checking in with me first?”

“I’m sorry!” Even though her face just seemed more hungry than apologetic. “But I was just so distracted by that booty!”

“Amber!”

“I Just wanna bury my face in it!”

“Amber that’s gross.” He put his fingers against the lids of his eyes.

“I just wanna like, take a big ‘ol bite of it, you ever feel like that, Jaune? Just see a big bodonkadonk and just like, wanna sink your teeth into it?”

“I… Well yes, but that's not the point here!”

“So you’ll be nice while we work out tomorrow?” She leaned in with big puppy dog eyes. “I’ll let you bite my bu~utt”

“You’re gross.” He let the air out of his lungs in a heavy sigh. “Fine, fine. One day one wont hurt.”

Amber leaned forward pressing her lips to his cheek in a small simple kiss. “Thank you Jaune.” His face was bright red when she pulled back, sure they’d shared far more intimate moments than this but the realization that this was the first time a girl besides his mom had kissed him, was, well. “You know maybe you should try softening that way to look at people, maybe you’ll start to see what I see.”

“A-am” He stuttered, trying to still process her lips on his cheek.

“And if I get my hands on that fat wobbly ass-mountain!” thunderously she roared, throwing a fist up into the air, utterly ruining the moment. “You’ll be the first to know.”

There was a slight unease to the air though. Jaune’s eyes drifting to the other side of the room away from the wolf girl in front of him. “Amber… You like Harpy then? I thought… well.. You liked me?”

“Of course I like you silly.” Her fingers ran through his hair, the pink on his cheeks only increasing with her touch. “I like her too.”

“I mean like.”

“Butt touching kinda friends?” She reasoned.

“No!” Jaune couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head and nuzzling into her hand. They hadn’t really talked about it but he supposed she didn’t really have a concept of modern boyfriend and girlfriend dynamics. “I just… nevermind.” 

He sighed, resigning himself to the fact he’d probably have to share Amber, or that she’d end up picking Harpy, he was happy for her obviously but there was a sense of melancholy to that though. 

“You want me to be your girlfriend, right?” Jaune seemed a little shocked by that, opening his mouth to argue to the contrary but she brought up her hand to stop him. She started to chew her lip. “Grimm don’t form relationships, they don’t mate or procreate at all, they are born from sludge and darkness.”

She paused to try and collect her words.

“I don’t know how to be a girlfriend. I don’t know how to love only one person, or what i'm not allowed to do.” She shrugged, and maybe Jaune was doing that thing where he looked at people differently because he understood, he understood not wanting to admit you were lacking somewhere. Amber didn’t know about social situations, she didn’t know if hugging was too much, or if she was too loud, hell he had to explain to her that there were specific rooms to use the washroom in and that no she wasn’t allowed to go into the same room as him.

He understood there was a little bit of embarrassment in not knowing about feelings and people and what was acceptable. “I know that it’s not normal for me to like you and Harpy, I don’t even know if I like Harpy as much as I like you.” A pause “I don’t… not right now, but what if I do down the line?”

She let out a defeated little sigh. “I don’t want you to be with me knowing that I might like other people too. Or if I do something I shouldn’t, like when I kissed you, right? That felt normal to me, but I felt it on you, it wasn’t.” 

“Amber…” He finally spoke, some part of him wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he liked her and that was enough, but honestly, wasn’t he happy enough as her friend? He was. Was he happy for her finding someone special to her besides him? Of course he was. Would he be happy knowing she also had feelings for other people and that was just something that happened to her? He… wasn’t sure.

“Is there anyone else besides Harpy?”

“Winter.. But thats really just her butt, she’s not really my type.” When he looked at her out of surprise she just smiled wide and snickered. “Teasing, of course.”

“You’re ridiculous.” He shook his head. “I mean, listen, how about we just keep an eye on it, I’m not going anywhere, If someone else comes along that you like, we can see if that becomes large feelings or maybe you just want to be their friend?” He shrugged. “Same with me, we’re already best friends, lets see if this becomes more, or if we stay friends. I don’t see that as a loss.”

Amber looked at him with nothing besides pure honest love in her eyes. “Jaune you really are amazing.”

“I’m not really doing anything special.” Shaking his head he really believed it, everyone should treat their friends with understanding. “Now come on, we have a big day ahead of us.”

“Oh Jaune taking me to bed after all that?” followed by a wink.

“You can sleep outside.” He groaned, hitting the lights and getting up from his chair, sauntering over towards their bunk beds. 

Though unmistakably there were four note cards left together, just from him fiddling idly with them, three girls, Amber, Harpy, Pale and their soon to be leader, Jaune Arc.

_______________________________________________________________

To say the next day was awkward-

“You’re kinda pathetic, anyone ever tell you that?” The harsh crass tone that only one woman in the world could ever pull off. Jaune was laying down on a bench gasping for air just trying to keep up with the two girls he had been jogging with, well sprinting, well gasping for air and flailing his arms to try and keep up.

Honestly Jaune wasn’t even unathletic anymore, sure when he was at beacon he’d been a lazy sack, but now he was showing muscle, getting into shape. He was starting to middle of the pack it with the rest of the trainees and yet compared to Amber and Harpy he was a toddler running in the olympics. “I’ll keep that in mind, might make me run faster next time.”

“Well you can’t possibly do worse.” a long drawn out huff. Harpy ran her fingers through that short colourful hair, barely even sweating. 

“I thought we were playing nice.” Jaune stood up right stretching his back and feeling his shirt ride up just ever so slightly over his abdominals. His attention more focused on Amber now who was just tagging her tail and looked overly happy that her two new friends were interacting. 

“I am playing nice, I’m here aren’t I?”

“Hey come on, it’s just nice everyone hanging out together, right?” Amber just tried to spread her arms wide and just take in the warm fuzzy feelings that were evidently so absent. 

“Sure.” The pattering of Jaune’s feet away from the two indicated he wasn’t a huge fan of being talked to like this, not after getting it from Weiss and Yang basically every day back at Beacon. He gets it, it’s fun to pick on him for being behind the pack, he was trying to improve damnit, but Harpy didn’t give a shit, that much was obvious. 

“Done already, Captain?” Harpy called hummed towards him, putting her water bottle to her lips.

What was her problem with him, beside the fact she was a person so obviously that meant she was some self centered asshole. Even now Jaune was trying to be civil, he hadn’t said a single thing to her, tried to keep chatter to a minimum but that seemed to make her only angrier. He’d tried to do what Amber had told him, stop seeing people for that shell and see deeper into them, but all he saw on Harpy was annoyance, attitude, a bad one at that.

“No, just getting my water.” Muttering under his breath.

“So what’s next?” Amber piped up excitedly. 

“I was going to suggest sparing but we might kill him.”

Jaune gripped the neck of his bottle tighter, trying to control that rage boiling in his putrid gut. Screwing back on the cap he let out a ragged breath from between his teeth. “Right, you two can go on ahead then.”

“Jaune?”

“You heard him, Amber.” Harpy turned to her new friend, pleased with herself, that bad attitude finally getting him fed up enough to leave. Yeah if Amber wanted him looking close enough then yes, he could plainly see Harpy as the aggressive manipulative bitch she was.

“I’ll be fine, I should get back to group pairing anyway.” There was a twist to those words, idle for sure but be made sure they rang enough for Harpy to pick up on them. Yeah if she wanted to play hardball he could play hardball.

She wants to be a cunt, he could make her life a living hell, pairing her up with the worst possible team and as far away from Amber as possible, Amber might hate him for a minute but it was better than letting this leech dig her talons in. 

“You two have fun.” His monotone dark as he glared over his shoulder at Harpy, who stared back at him with daggers lingering at the fringe of her vision. Man if looks could kill. 

Still it wasn’t long until they were out of sight and he was walking back together that no-carb keto friendly sea-weed… Jaune tried to think of more hipster words but couldn’t bring any to mind. 

But was surprised.

Sitting at the same spot she was yesterday was Amelia. Great a Schnee wannabe to deal with too, even if she was shaking around a drink, something green and viscus and motioning for him to sit down with her.

Did.. did she buy him a drink?

“Jaune!” She practically purred, mature full lips pursing at every syllable of his name. 

“Amelia?” He pulled back out the chair. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Well I saw you getting chewed up by that green haired punk girl and figured you could probably use a pick-me-up.” Her smile was bright but one may be forgiven for it not melting Jaune’s heart immediately. He couldn’t see a reason why she’d be nice to him, she didn’t stand to gain anything besides a better place in a good team, but there was no doubt in his mind that she didn’t stand a chance at wiggling any sort of favoritism out of him.

This wasn’t some school yard fantasy of the honour student blowing the teacher under the desk for a better grade to keep appearances. 

“I appreciate it.” Was all she got as he took the drink, even then her smile while and warm never faded from her features. 

“She and Amber seem to be getting along.” There was a tinge of judgement to that, like she wasn’t sure how she felt about it either. “Glad you both seem to be making friends, though Harpy may not be the best ambassador to Atlas unfortunately. I do assure you, we’re mostly a lot nicer than she is.”

“We had atleasians at Beacon.” He made the comment but put the straw of his drink back in mouth to indicate that there wasn’t more of that dangling sentence. That smile faltered only just a second, her face turning to stare straight ahead.

Good going Jaune, he told himself, you managed to kill this conversation, can’t you just accept someone being nice to you?

The answer was clearly no.

Jaune inspected her face from the corner of his eye. Drawing the line of her jaw, the way her hair fell just ever so slightly right in front of her face, two loops of long white locks. She wasn’t pouting but it was clear there was something distance to her gaze.

Oh shit, he was doing that, ‘looking closer’ thing Amber wanted him to do. He… fuck he saw it there too. He saw her frowning, not with her face but in the way her eyes shook with sadness, the pout of her lip even if ever so slightly. He could feel it too, like her aura was touching his and all that emotion was running through him the same way it did with Amber. Well not really but he could imagine it, he could remember the tangible feeling of sadness, he felt it all over Amelia like it was coming off her in waves.

“Thank you.” He let out the words with a breath, taking another sip from his drink. “For the drink.” A pause. “And the company.”

She turned to him but he was already looking away, was she… blushing? He couldn’t help but feel his own cheeks turn a little pink. She smiled and hid it in taking a sip from her drink. “Jaune Arc, being nice? Are you sure you won't have an allergic reaction to it?”

“Don’t get used to it.” He gave her a smirk but honestly he still held feelings that she was just buttering him up. “So why come to this gym out in the middle of nowhere? The school has better facilities than this.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” She countered, eyes glancing at him from their corners, even if her smile was playful. But she did offer an answer to his question. “I just like the view here better.”

Her ‘humph’ and unapologetic demeanour gave him the impression that was not the truth, or at least not the whole truth and she made no secret of that fact. Which left the question to Jaune, which became a sensitive subject, he put his hand to the back of his neck, she wasn’t exactly being forthright with her own weaknesses, should he just come forward and say he was here because he was remedial in all his tests?

“I’m actually kind of a shite hunter.” He admitted, not sure why he was, afterall it went against everything he believed. “I have terrible scores, honestly it’s a crime to even give me a weapon.”

Pale smiled and leaned back “Thank gods It’s not just me! I thought I was going to be the only one terrible at fighting!” That bright smile on her face practically lighting up the room. “I love coming to the gym but the one at the school is so intimidating! It’s a struggle even having amber and harpy here. My poor ego.” 

A hand went to her cheek bashfully taking herself down a notch. “Trust me, with me around, you won’t be the worst in the class at least.”

“Hey, Ironwood picked you as our leader for a reason, and I hope it wasn’t for your brawn.” Taking her drink and downing the last of it she got to her feet with a small bounce that Jaune found it hard not to take notice of. “But since we’re actually having a real conversation, want to keep this going and walk me back to the dorms?” 

Jaune thought back to Amber, she was safe, harpy was no danger to her, it was probably the other way around. She did want him to make friends… “Yeah I thi-”

“I can’t believe you!” Amber was storming out of the locker rooms in a huff, walking away from a Harpy who followed after in a lazy fashion. Amber’s feet stomping away towards the doors until she strolled to a stop seeing Jaune still in the building, her cheeks turning a little pink.

“Amb-” Harpy tried to shout after her but stopped when she saw Jaune too.

“Hey…” muttering with an awkward inflection Jaune just stared at the two women, then back to Amelia. “Th-this is Amelia, Pale, she’s in our class?” He tried to offer, something to keep their minds off of whatever argument the two girls were having.

“Apologise!” Amber chided and pointed towards Jaune, he balked, eyes going wide for a second before she turned her gaze back towards Harpy, leering at her and making it clear to everyone she meant her. 

“I didn’t do shit to that asshole.” The punk teen growled. Crossing her arms under that in comparison to the other two ladies, smaller chest. Still at a better size than most other girls their age. 

“Apologise.”

“What’s going on here?” Amelia asked with a tilted head.

“I have no idea.” Jaune just stared with pure unadulterated terror, this was more public than he’d ever wanted anything in her life to ever be.

“Apologise!” 

“FINE!” Harpy shouted, loud enough that even the server at the health shake shack lowered behind the desk slowly to escape the awkward situation. Jaune envied her, instead he had to stare as the pink and green haired girl stormed her way towards him, a grimace on her face “I’m sorry!” 

She sounded anything but. “For what?” Amber chided.

“For…” She cursed under her breath. “For making fun of your pu-”

“Harpy…”

“For making fun of you.” She spat out, Jaune did not feel the love but honestly he was beyond words, this was amazing, Amber had gotten a bully to apologise to him, thats… wow that had never happened before. “I… Do I have to say it? Are we cool?”

“Harpy you have to say it all.” 

“I… Fuck, this is so uncool.” Who says ‘uncool’? “I… still wanna be friends.. I’m sorry I was mean to you.” She glared backwards at Amber, as if asking if that was enough. Amber just smiled the biggest brightest smile she could. 

“I love when we all get along.” No one, it seemed, was getting along.

“Should I be concerned about this?” Amelia asked with a half laugh creeping into her voice.

“I certainly hope not.” Jaune murmured. Then coughing into his fist he tried to straighten himself and look Harpy in the eyes, trying to figure out what in the world brought this on. Certainly she didn’t care about Amber but that was the only thing Jaune could think of. “We’re cool then, yeah.”

Harpy just let out an annoyed sigh and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That good enough for you, Mutt?” Mutt? Jaune nearly burst a blood vessel and from the looks of it Pale nearly did too. “He said we’re good.”

Before either of the two could step in though Amber just rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the punks’s shoulder, pressing her lips against Harpy’s cheek and made a loud smacking sound. “See, that wasn’t so hard was it?” 

Jaune just stared stunned, “Who’s this?” Amber asked excitedly, tail wagging behind her.

“Amelia. Amelia Pale, Jaune alrea-”

“Right! Right, sorry we were distracted, Harpy was just upset-” Harpies hand clapped over Amber’s mouth before she got any farther into that line of thinking, trying to laugh it off before letting Amer have her own voice back. “Are you two fighting? You’re both so mad!”

“N-” Jaune tried to collect his thoughts, this conversation moving a mile a minute and hard for him to honestly keep up with. “No! We… We’re actually about to head back to the dorms.”

“The movies.” Pale corrected. “Dinner and a movie.” Her sly smile was accompanied by her saddling up next to Jaune and wrapping her arms around his, pressing that ample plush chest against his bicep and giving the other two girls a playful smirk. “Jaune just asked me out.”

Amber was clearly as confused as he was. Everyone looking at the very proud of herself Pale. Though surprisingly it was Harpy who got a bright red smear across her face that equally matched Jaune’s own. Pale was so much taller than him, her body so soft against his, he didn’t know what brought this beautiful woman to get so close to him but he loved every second of it.

“He asked me to go out with him right before you both came from the showers, so I decided to give him my answer.” Putting her hand on the other side of his chin in a vaguely possessive manner, standing more upright so that his head was pressing firmly against her chest. 

Jaune hadn’t the faintest idea what she was talking about and the sly little wink she gave him asking him to play along mixed with the sheer awkwardness the young Arc had around women made it hard for him to do little more than avoid the questioning gazes of amber and harpy and mumble his own agreement. 

The busty woman pulled away leaving him feeling a chill where her body heat so long clung to him and a drawing feeling like he wanted to dive back into the soft confines of her plush body. “Perfect, we will have a wonderful date then, I’m so excited!” 

Feeling his pants get a little tighter, he tried to clear his throat but the sound off Harpy ‘tsk’ing and the look of growling anger she wore getting a shade worse reminded him vaguely of staring down an Ursa during his first week at Beacon. The air seemed to get colder in the lobby, feeling her cold killing intent in the air.

Harpy just grabbed the drink in Jaune’s hand and tossed it as hard as she could against the wall. Everyone staring at the sudden burst of rage as the green kelpy shake splattered against the porcelain white walls. “ASSHOLE!” She shouted as his face and stormed off.

“Harpy!” Amber called rushing after her, but stopping and trotting over to Jaune and Pale. “Sorry, she’s uh. Um.. It was nice to meet you pretty lady!” She gave Pale a curt bow and returned to running after her new friend.

“Wh-at was that about?” Jaune blinked twice, looking at the funky coloured crime scene of his murdered drink. 

“You’re really not good with women are you?”

Jaune leveled his gaze back at her to which she made a disarming apologetic look. “Speaking of asking what shit was about, care to explain our date?”

Amelia put her hands on her cheeks and got a wistful romantic look on her face. “I was just so taken with you, I had to confess my feelings.” Why did Jaune not believe that for a second. She crossed his arms and made it clear he wasn’t going to take some half answer from her. She let out a tired sigh and shrugged, putting her own arms under her impressive chest. Looking down at him with a more cunning expression on her face, though it still looked playful on that beautiful face of hers. “You really don’t understand women.”

“I understand people, they do things because they want something. So what is it that you want? To make Harpy upset with me?” Jaune’s tone was dark, an edge to it, that mistrust coming back with a vengeance. 

“Jaune..” She sounded a little hurt, her brow furrowing upwards, Jaune had to look away to stop his chest from tugging, he might want to be cold but it was a lot harder when you could actually see the face of the person as you got them upset. “I…”

There was an awkward silence as the server at the smoothie shack slowly rose up. “I-is it safe?” 

Amelia just took Jaune’s hand, getting him to look at her. “I… I’m sorry.”

He blinked. Eyes looking up at her, a small blush forming just on the edge of his nose. She continued after taking a small breath. “I… I saw the way Harpy looked at you-” the way Harpy looked at him? With hatred and disdain? “-And I was going to ask you on the way back if we could stop for dinner.”

Pulling him closer so that she could lift up her other hand and rung her fingers through his hair. “I just didn’t want them to drag you away from me. Y-you can go tell them it was a joke, if you like.”

She was petting him like a dog, he tried to tell himself that he didn’t like it but then again he also wasn’t pulling away or telling her to stop. He made a grumbling noise and shifted on his feet, trying to ignore that he was practically at eye level with that impressive chest of hers. “I… They’ll calm down, Amber will see what’s got Harpy in a mood…” He mumbled out the rest trying not to sound like a child but it came out that way anyways. “W-we do have a date after all.” 

Pale got a weird smile on her face that made Jaune feel like a rabbit being stalked by a fox, her lidded eyes and bared fangs made him sweat but at the same time made his heart thrum in his chest. He couldn’t help but feel like he was in danger but that he really- really did not mind that fact for a second.

“Ara ara, you’re so good to me~” She practically purred. “My sweet boy.”

Jaune discovered a new fetish that day. Though to be honest since his experience with women was limited to getting rejected with Weiss really all he’d just discovered was that he had a thing for attractive women who were sexually attracted to him. The fetish developed later when she all but ruined him for other women after their first valentine's day together.

“Sweet boy?” he tried to sound more confident when he questioned her about it but it came off more breathless than he intended.

“You, you’re our leader but you’re a sweet man, Jaune Arc. Even if you want me to think you’re not.” Leaning down she kisses his forehead, just a small peck but it stunned Jaune to the point he didn’t even realize that she had pulled away, now at the doors of the building motioning for him to follow her. “Coming?”

The first step was instinct, but he made the rest of his own free will, pushing forward into the dangerous territory of this new strange relationship.

_____________________________________________

When Jaune had seen dinner dates in movies, tv, stories, he’d thought it was more fancy than Pale taking him to a local pub and ordering a bowl of nachos to share. Even Though she was the one who said she wanted nachos she’d stayed quiet and indicated for him to order when the server came by. 

They sat and talked, mostly about their lives and where they came from to this point. Jaune talked about his many sisters, his mom, dad, going to Beacon. She could tell he wasn’t giving the whole truth but everyone vaguely knew that he had been kicked out of Beacon even if only a few students were ever made aware of why.

Pale herself had a fairly simple life even if she was an Atlas elite, she was the third daughter and fifth child of her family, all of them prestigious in their own rights. Two well trained hunters, a politician, one was even a scientist leading the field of aura augment and development. Which was just a fancy way to say that she made the equipment that turned aura into weapons. 

While he was nodding like he understood, he was actually very lost, mostly just trying to keep up and take genuine interest in her family. Her father seemed to be very big in the market and also has his hands in the manufacturing industry and is a massive donor to the academy. Though what really excited her to talk about was their families part in the faunus rights movement. She talked about setting up marches, funding work efforts. It seemed like her father was a big proponent in sustainable movements. Funding schools, creating jobs, Pale specifically mentioned a week when she joined him during a business meeting to start a huge push for new businesses to start up around the crater and try to jumpstart the economy of the lower income sections of Mantle. 

That part actually got Jaune really interested, their conversation a wonderful smiling talk of business and beliefs. It never quite got too close to them just patting themselves on the back for being good people, always edged with some subtle jab about sipping caviar while they looked from ivory towers, stuffing their faces with chips and even the beautiful Pale ugly laughing with tears rolling down her face at times.

She kept questioning about Jaune and his family, seeming so enamoured with the idea of having a close family, even if she had a big family herself most had different moms. Her father was a philanthropist not a saint, and while they were all good people they didn’t seem to have much in common and many years between them. Her oldest sibling was in their thirties. So Jaune talking about hoa he and all of his sisters with five years apart even while his family was larger was exciting to her. 

Pale did make sure to clear up that her father was a kind and gentle man, who cared for them all equally. He just had a bad habit around beautiful women. Which judging by Pale’s lookos meant that they were probably genetic and his father had amazing taste.

“I feel bad for Amber to be honest, living without a family. I had my older sister, and my dad, the butlers and maids.” She put her chin into her hand munching on the dregs of chips remnants. “To be stuck out there with only Grimm for company.”

Jaune just shrugged, thinking about Harpy who grew up in an orphanage. He shuddered trying not to think about her at all. “Amber’s just happy… well in general, I’m sure she would be happy no matter where you put her, that woman just loves being alive.” 

Pale couldn’t help but tilt her head at that, raising an eyebrow at him. “You really like her don’t you?” There was a melancholy to that, it was obviously she meant as more than friends. His instinct was to lie and say no, he wondered if that would make her feel better or worse? Maybe a lie was easier? “For someone who doesn’t know anything about women you’re plenty popular with them.”

He figured that lying would only make things worse, Pale was smart enough to notice something so plainly obvious. Lying would only hurt any trust they’d built up until now. “Yeah.. I know that’s… weird. I don’t want you to think I’m going to be with her or anything. We’re just friends, she’s my best friend, the only person I can really trust…” He tried to say besides Pale, but in all honesty he couldn’t, He trusted her like he trusted Pyrrha before everything at Beacon happened. For as much as they were having a great time and as much as he found himself genuinely falling for her, he couldn’t trust her, not fully, everyone leaves at some point, he reminded himself. “I think it's because when I met her she said she wasn’t human or Faunus, she called herself a Grimm, of all things. Weird that I trusted her more for that. I want to trust people, It’s just hard to.” 

Well that sounded crazy, he knew that for sure, but she looked like she understood. “Trust me I’m not judging you for having feelings, I would be lying if I said I didn’t think she was cute too. I also get ‘not trusting people’, my father taught me never to trust men until you’ve seen the colour of their soul. When I was little I didn’t know what he meant. I’m sure he meant something profound but when I got my semblance I understood it more, When I touch people I can see what kind of person they are. At least for the most part.”

Jaune read her file but seeing someone’s soul wasn’t in there. “What do you mean? So my soul is a good colour than?”

She just smirked and gave him a wink. “No it’s terrible, so I know I can trust you to do the worst thing possible.” She snickered but leaned back putting another debris chip into her mouth, Jaune following suit, finishing the plate. “ I see what people’s semblances look like, what their aura is like. When I touch them at least. I can’t tell what they’re thinking or anything but if you believe aura is an expression of our souls…” she shrugged. “Yours is warm.”

“Warm?” He made a face at that, a mix between bashful and nervous.

“Warm.” She confirmed. “Welcoming, like home.” 

Jaune felt himself blush, turning his head away only to hear her laugh. “You’re so cute when you blush.” Which only made him blush even brighter. “I can see why so many girls look at you the way they do.”

“Pfft” She scoffed. “Alright, I’m a little slow but I’m not dumb, or blind. Amber likes me and you like teasing me.” He pointed out the last bit as a way to insinuate that he was fun for the moment but she’d get bored of him. “I tried to be the guy girls like back at Beacon, now I’m well aware, I’m the guy girls spread rumors about in the back of the class.”

Pale got an almost sympathetic look on her face, as if to say ‘aww poor little puppy’ and leaned forward so that her bust rested on the hard wooden table between them. Her elbows pressing them together as she rested her chin on her palms. “Maybe when you first got there. Hell, even when you first got here, but you worked off that baby fat and started dressing better. You walk like you know who you are, and besides, I’ve got to admit the rugged jawline, blonde hair and blue eyes are really doing it for me.”

Jaune stared at her with his mouth hanging open. This drop dead gorgeous bombshell of a babe- woman was lavishing him in compliments, her voice low and hushed but loud enough that she wasn’t afraid of others hearing. 

He tried to form a sentence but there wasn’t really a word that could filter through his brain. 

Giggles started to seep through her throat, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Besides you noticed Amber looking at you and she’s adorable. So right now that’s at least two pretty ladies who are very interested in you.” She got kind of a queer look on her face. “Well Three but I’ll let you figure out the third yourself.” Giving him a sly wink.

That statement came with a doubtful look from the man across of her, but he didn't press any farther. "Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve wanted to trust since I got here. Besides General Ironwood.”

He added the second part as an afterthought, like it was obviously and was an expectation. Amelia just nodded. “Ironwood is a good man, he’s been to plenty of balls and dinners. A perfect gentleman, but his aura is always so cold.” She shivered like she remembered the feeling of ice after years in a desert. “I’m flattered you chose me, for my station and good looks I assume?”

To which she did the last thing Jaune expected, peeling back the corner of her already low collar, revealing more of that creamy porcelain white cleavage. “You’re a good man, but you have wandering eyes, Jaune Arc.”

Her wink made him well aware of the face he didn’t mind that, and while every fiber of his being was yelling at him to look away out of modesty, to hide that red creeping around his face and down his neck. Instead he stared at her eyes, keeping his gaze locked on her, his words softer, more sympathetic. “No, I saw that you were missing something, just like me.” The words fell out and her eyes got a little more shocked than before, questioning and letting go of the hem from her shirt. “You’re beautiful, wow are you beautiful, like damn-” He stopped because he realized that was going to go on for a while and cleared his throat. “But I want to let you in because you’re- you feel warm.”

He didn’t quite know what he meant by that, but he had to admit that he felt safe with her, however much of a mistake that was. But he understood exactly what she meant when she said his arua felt like home.

This time it was her turn to blush , covering her face with a palm. “I-I-I-” She stammered and brought the other hand up to cover her face completely. “I, no one’s ever…” 

“Sorry that was probably super weird to say.” Jaune rubbed the back of his head. “Amber would have just agreed you have nice boobs. She’s bett-”

Her hand reached out and grabbed onto his hand, holding it tight and peeking at him from behind her hand. Jaune had made this beautiful woman blush like a schoolgirl, which he supposed she was, after she’d been so confident, wow that was an ego boost. His chest swelled and his heart thrummed in his chest, he hadn’t felt like this since the first night he stayed here with Amber, oh no he’d fallen for her. Head over heels.

Amber felt different, he knew he liked Amber when they had their big moment. Pale was a surprise, a pleasant, utterly welcome one. He hadn’t expected to feel anything for her, but now there was something lighting the gasoline of his veins on fire, boiling over and making his entire body burn up.

“I know I basically strong armed you into this date, but would you want to go out again sometime?” How could one woman be so cute, that confident bravado, forward sexuality, shy blushing demeure when someone returned her flirtation with earnest affection. She was adorable, almost unreal. If he hadn’t seen her demolish a plate of nachos and also see her get jealous easily, he’d have said it was an act. But then again her getting so jealous had been pretty cute, a nice change of pace for the girl to be the one getting jealous, he snickered inwardly. 

“I’d love to. This was.. A lot of fun, more fun than I’ve had in a long, long time.” 

“I suppose we should head back to the dorm.” Her lamentation was echoed by Jaune who equally didn’t want to go back to the dorms, more interested in talking to her but they had held up this table for a long time.

The bill got paid and there wasn’t really anything else interesting that happened. Their walk back was long but neither person felt like it was long enough, arriving meant parting. Arriving meant it was over. 

What was so sweet, better than the meal and talk that came prior was the looks they got, hands coiled around each other, Pale making sure to put on a show of putting his arm around her hip when other girls walked by.

Jaune couldn’t help but love the feeling, love being around her, she made him feel so special, so powerful. He wanted to make her feel like that, wanted her to feel as strong as she made him. Their dorms were close, but of course she was staying on a separate floor. Just a minute away, but seeming like another country for the extra distance between them.

He was a man of his word and walked her to the door, both standing out in front of it.

And then he said the dumbest thing he’d ever said in his entire life. “I had a great time tonight.”

Like every basic white girl in every rom com movie. Pale stared blankly at him and he felt his inside curl up into a ball, he wanted to die. That was how he was going to end tonight, he put his face into his palm. “Wow that was.. That was terrible wasn’t it?”

Her fingers against his chin, lifting his face to look up at hers, she gave that same room brightening smile. “I had a great time too.”

His hand came up to touch her’s still on his cheek. Their fingers curled against each other, she took another step close to the point they were almost touching, but just enough room that she wasn’t craning her neck to look down at him.

One palm pressed against his chest, feeling the hard layer of muscle and letting her nails curl against it. His free hand going to her hip, feeling her distinct muscle under the plush layer of flesh than his fingers sunk into, god that feeling drove him wild. Their eyes explored each other, his drawing over every line of her face, her nose, her full round, red lips. Her cheekbones, her beautiful eyes, glinting with the hallway’s white lights.

“I.. really like you, Jaune.” Her breath tickled his neck, his chin, she leaned down closer closing most of the distance as the hand on his chest wrapped around his back, holding him steady as she leaned in.

“I-” He was cut off by himself, closing the distance, his eyes fluttering shut as she pressed into her, fingers against the soft skin of her cheek, arm pulling her close. It was chaste at first, feeling the softness of her full lips, savouring the sensation of the breath from her nose against him, her skin against his, their bodies pressed together in the timeless. 

Then her lips spread, tongue filtering out and connecting with his, still this wasn’t a gross make out but it felt more intense than Jaune was expecting, she tasted- a little like nachos still, but there was a tingle in his gut that made his knees weak, his head was getting light just feeling the sensation of intimacy. The way she groaned against his open maw showed him she felt it too. 

Their hands explored, along his back, over her sides, chaste but the intention was there. This wasn’t just physical but there was so much physical attraction here it was painful to hold back. They were clumsy, tongue bashing against each other in awkward movements, her teeth hit his at one point. But it was those moments, those moments that made him feel even closer to her. They weren’t afraid to make mistakes in front of each other, and that feeling of the other being warm? It made sense, it was safe, the Jaune felt safe with her, like he did with Amber but different, it was subtle but it was a whole different world for the vastness in difference it made. 

Jaune could only describe it with one word. Home.

Their lips parted with such sorrow, a little line of spit connecting them until it broke under it’s own weight. Pale got a sheepish smile on her face, even if her eyes still spoke of that same predatory gleam, like she wanted to pounce on him and take him inside, doing whatever she wanted with him. But she was a patient huntress, and she could wait to devour this one yet. Even if her legs were shaking from just that kiss alone. “I-I’ve never kissed- I, well..”

“That was my first kiss too.” Jaune concluded for her. Tightening his grip on her hand.

“Gods, I’m going to ruin you one day.” That felt like it was supposed to be an inside thought, but without thinking she made it an outside thought. Both of them blushing before she cleared her throat. “Well… I should go inside now, to curl up and die.”

“I mean… how will you ruin me if you die? Gotta stick around to get the chance.” That was… actually really smooth? Jaune was impressed with himself. She bit her lower lip peering down her cheeks at him, she was thinking even worse things than she said and she made no secret of hiding it.

She kissed him one more time, pulling him closer this time and practically lifting him off the ground, nothing as deep as before but still just as passionate. “Goodnight, Jaune~” 

“Goodnight, Amelia.” 

“Pale. I prefer Pale.”

“Pale~” The word sounded good on her tongue, he decided he liked it. With that the door was closed and he was left alone in the hallway. 

Jaune tried to suppress the giddy sensation in his guts, feeling like he was walking on air. The elevator took him up to his floor, the slow music playing on the inside, did any of today really happen? It felt so distant in the back of his mind. He hardly believed it and he was the one who lived it. 

The halls if his floor looked so drab, colourless white and faded blue, but he had to admit they looked cleaner in this new light. The white was bright instead of oppressive, the blue was vibrant instead of dull. 

He ran his fingers over the tiled walls, looking at the door that's his, thinking he could hear movement on the other side.

Right he would need to apologise and explain things to Amber wouldn't he? To a lesser extent Harpy but she hardly mattered, Amber would get bored of her pretty quickly and it was clear that Pale also had a thing for Amber. So perhaps the pink and green punk wouldn't be around for much longer.

His hand wrapped around the door and gave it a twist. He opened it regularly but stopped at the halfway point. Just enough that both Amber and Harpy looked back at him with red embarrassed expressions.

This… this was not how he wanted to see Amber naked.

Laying on her back with Harpy on top of her, their tongues were hanging out obviously just pausing a passionate make out session, hell he could have sworn he saw Amber swallow a load of Harpy's drool. The wolf girl has her shirt pulled up with her tits exposed, bra discarded off to the side and a little rip in the t-shirt she always wore.

What was more embarrassing though was the fact neither woman was wearing pants, Harpy's massive bubble butt in full display with arousal dripping down her thigh, Amber with two fingers of the pink girl pushing her panties aside, up her skirt and deep inside her. 

Jaune just stared for a long second with none of them saying anything. Amber whimpering with embarrassment, covering her face but still grinding her hips against Harpy's hand.

Harpy herself just looked at him with a mildly annoyed face. "If you're going to be a pussy, just leave, at least close the door."

"Right, I'll be back later." He agreed and shut the door turning away from it.

Jaune could feel his chest ripping open from the inside, clutching at his heart, hand balling up his shirt he unsteadily made it back to the elevator. Collapsing into a heap in its corner.

He… she… they.. 

Amber was sleeping with Harpy. She said she liked him and they hadn't even kissed in weeks, barely done more than hold hands and hug. Harpy was sleeping with her in two days. 

Jaune's mind raved, raced from one possibility to the other. Amber wasn't his anymore though, that was clear, Harpy won, she won because he let his guard down for a cute face once.

This. This was why he couldn't get close to anyone. Well… he could get close to one person.

Taking out his scroll, Jaune flipped to the only contact he had besides Ironwood and Winter. He his enter and waited. 

"Jaune, so soon? Miss me that much?" 

He let out a shaky breath hearing her voice. Pale sounded so serene, so beautiful even as sleep clouded her voice. He wanted to just listen to her talk. Well he wanted a hug, but that just made him think of Amber and that just made that growing pain in his chest grow even tighter. 

She could probably hear his shaking breath and her voice got nervous, a little scared even "Jaune? Are you okay?" 

"I uh.. I can't be in my dorm tonight…" 

She didn't need any more than that. "Come back upstairs, I'll take the couch. I'll have some hot chocolate made for you when you get here."

Her voice was so warm, he couldn't help but feel a year roll down his cheek. He should feel as betrayed as he should but for some part of his brain it was this bad. He wouldn't have been upset to see Amber with someone, but they were sleeping in his room, sleeping in his bed, that was the same bed he and her had cuddled up in and promised it was them against the world, that they'd be by each other's side. And she was sharing it with someone who hated him, someone who wanted nothing to do with him.

He didn't register the elevator ding or knocking on Pale's door. He didn't even really have a thought, just running in auto pilot until he was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring down at his hands. Pale standing in the door way.

"Hey you're going to be okay, you know that right?" 

"Yeah I suppose so." He finally spoke. Looking at the still steaming cup of coco at the nightstand. "This is just how things are, I suppose." 

She took a step into the room, putting her hand on the frame of the bed. "What do you mean? Amber sleeping with Harpy?" 

Jaune supposed that was the logical answer but he shook his head. "People move on, everyone is just a stepping stone to someone else. I'm one of those stones, stable, easy to push off of to get to better ground." 

Pale just shook her head, sitting down beside him, feeling the best bend so that he was forced to lean against her. God's she was more comfy than the bed itself. "You're bit Jaune, you're more than just a stone, and I'm sure Amber will explain things to you in time." She tried to reason. "Just because a few people did horrible things to you, doesn't mean they all will, doesn't mean Amber will, and it certainly doesn't mean I will." 

Pale was wearing a pair of very flattering pajamas, just a simple white t, no bra, baggy shorts that did little to hide the way her butt just fell out of them. Her room was sparse but it was awkward she would have to admit that a couple of posters for local musicals hung on her walls.

Jaune looked around her room but ended up feeling like his eyes were going to bite out of his skull if he kept them open. So he closed then hard and just pushed her head back down into her, feeling her soft hands pat along his tangled golden hair, making soft comforting noises and stroking his mane.

Her arms wrapped around him pulling him in so that his face was buried into the heavenly pillow of her chest, but he could hardly call it sexual, this was comfort, this was the most human, the most intimate way to express that comfort. "I'm not going anywhere Jaune, you're not some stepping stone, you're my island, you're a rock, you're home." 

There was so much of that he wanted to believe, his arms wrapping around her tightly, not wanting to let go for tonight at least. 

But she was wrong, he was just her stepping stone, she didn't know it yet. Once something better came alone, or thing got hard, she'd move onto someone else.

Still.

Until this he just wanted to hold her close, feel her warm body against his, take in her scent, hear her heartbeat through her chest, her breath on the top of his head. She was going to leave eventually, he knew that, but he wanted her here for as long as she would stay. At least for tonight, was all he wanted. 

Before you leave, just hold me a little longer. 

__________________________

In the present Jaune tossed fitfully in his sleep, a nightmare about Grimm and his girls clouding his mind, hands clawing a recent scar cooked white against his chest and through his torso.

Sweet poured down his brow, it wasn't one of those nightmares that just disappeared when you woke up. It was one of the ones that felt real, that when his eyes finally did open he wasn't in the waking world. The monsters, the death followed him into the room.

But his body wasn't moving, his whole body paralyzed while the shadowed and Grimm coiled around him, eyes unable to look away from the corpses of his friend littering the floor.

A shift behind him, a real shift pushed him out of it, letting his eyes adjust to reality, adjust to the room. He sat up, sweat still pouring over his body. He pulled off his shirt and couldn't help shaking. He'd fought hundred of Grimm but still these nightmares wouldn't leave, they came for him in the only place he was vulnerable, his mind. 

A hand placed itself on his back. "You okay? A dream about those awful kelp shakes back at Atlas?" 

Jaune tried to laugh at that but his voice failed him. In a couple of minutes he'd be their strong leader again, stalwart, infallible. The man his girls could believe in. Watching then die and not being able to do anything about it, just- it felt so real, he thought it was real, he woke up and still saw their corpses.

"Jaune?" Pale got even more worried now. Sitting up and pulling him in closer, putting her forehead against his jaw. "Hey I'm here, I'm here. Breathe for me, baby." 

She pulled his arms up, pulling his sweat drenched shirt off and pulling him back in so that his head was laid across that heavenly pillow he'd come to recognize so we'll. The body he loved, has become so familiar with, the place he called home.

"It was that nightmare again." He murmured, feeling the familiar sensation of her fingers through his hair, her lips against his ear. She turned him around so that her entire body fit against his back, spooning him and running her hands over his hair, kissing the back of his head and holding him closer than she had before, hugging him like a back pack.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm always going to be here, I'm here, I'll always be here." 

Jaune believed her, a smile finally forming in his face as she'd helped him so many months ago now. It felt like a lifetime. Jaune let out a breath. "I love you."

"I love you too, I'm always here for you my love, always, I'm never going to leave you, I'll be there with you until the end." 

Always she repeated, forever and always, until the stars died out and only they were left and then even after that. And then finally "I'm here." 

End


	5. Killer Likes Candy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone before we start, this chapter was originally supposed to be a Harpy chapter meant to bridge the gap between the Harpy we see In these flashbacks and Harpy we see in Chapter 1/2. Instead, I was 12k into the chapter and hadn't even started the date scene with Pale and decided that I would just end with what I was budgeted for the -mid-chapter- scene. So there will be 1 more chapter before we get to more current content for our Gang but I hope you enjoy the first real sexual experience Jaune has with the team and some light lore and maybe some more character development for the cast? hmmm.
> 
> Also also I realized in chapter 3 I spelt Pietro's name as Pedro. Which is probably really insensitive and I want to apologize for that before anyone notices, It was just an honest mistake and when I looked him up on the wiki for his last name I realized my mistake.
> 
> Anyway enjoy the chapter!

Better than ever Chapter 5. Pale 2.0

Killer Likes Candy - I am Ghost

Kiss the sun and burn our lips dead radio  
Candy girl you will never ever, ever make me the  
Perfect killer  
Outside the rabbit hole is a candy shop of poison

The sweetest thing I ever tasted…  
Invite me to pray, let the music glow  
Ignite my eyes and watch the poison glow

“James, that is certainly an option we have.” Ozpin put his hands together and pressed his index fingers against his eyes like he was praying. “I don’t think that we should risk our success on the shoulders of one student who hardly has any practical combat experience and one semblance we’re unsure of its actual application.

“As opposed to just slowly fighting the Grimm, taking a whole foot of land back from Salem in the last ten years?” Ironwood paced back and forth across the desk, even Glynda sitting in a chair now, looking as exhausted as Qrow with how this conversation was going.

“We’re not putting our lives in the hands of children.” Glynda chided.

“Qrow was seventeen when Ozpin gave him his abilities, I was fourteen when I lost my hand. Jaune is hardly a child, he’s a competent soldier and more mature-” He stopped and made eye contact with Glynda, her gaze avoided his. There was something of an understanding between them where she tried not to think about exactly how much on a man Jaune had proven himself to be.

“That’s not the issue Jamie.”

“Don’t call me that,” Ironwood growled at the laid-back Qrow.

“The issue is we can’t have all the maidens in one place. If your plan fails and Salem gets her hands on all of them.”

“Then we’re doomed, but it appears that Salem isn’t scared about going after them one at a time, now is she?” Everyone went silent and reflected on the state of what Qrow brought the fall maiden back in. “We need to start preparing for Salem to take the offensive, show the people we aren’t scared of the Grimm and that we’re still strong. We can’t let Salem think we’re scared of her.”

“She doesn’t care if we’re scared of her.” Ozpin let a haggard, aged sigh, like air from a thousand years slipped through his lungs. “Salem doesn’t have the fall Maiden, we do, your machine will ensure that.”

“And giving the maiden powers to the untested Miss Nikos? My android has more than enough practical combat experience and is proving herself as better single-handed than most teams of students you’re training.” Ironwood argued. “Let Penny take the fall’s powers, Winter will become the Winter after she passes. We will have trained, drilled and tested fighters that are the best in their fields.”

“James.” Ozpin found frustration creeping into his voice.

“Oz, more people will keep dying if we don’t act!”

“We will talk about this later, I have a tournament to attend. It is pointless to bring this up without talking to the girls.” Ozpin seemed to have finally lost his patience, standing up and pushing a book off his desk onto the floor with a resounding crash.

Everyone getting awkwardly silent, the echo of Ozpin for the first time in decades getting genuinely angry at someone. Even Ironwood couldn’t help but look away feeling like he might have overstepped the line. “Of course, I’ll go back to the Atlas dorms, Jaune and his team deserve congratulations in person.”

Everyone filtering out one by one, with Ozpin sitting back down and putting his hands in his hands, trying to calm that growing tension boiling under the surface. 

“Is it Wise to antagonize him so?” Ozpin bemoaned to the only person still in his office.

“James might be selfish but it’s hard to argue with him, things are looking dark, Oz,” Qrow mumbled, leaning against his desk. “It might be a good idea to talk about taking him up on the offer, or at least see what Jaune can do with a Maiden.” 

“I can’t tell if I’m more scared about Ironwood being wrong, or what he’ll want to do if he’s right.”

“I’m with you there, Oz, I’m with you there.” Qrow stepping off to saunter down the stairs leading to the clocktower, hands in pockets and hunched over as he was always one to walk. 

Glynda waiting for Qrow at the top of the stairs right halfway down. “Glynda.”

“Qrow.” 

“You know if you wanted to tell everyone in the room you were sleeping with the Arc kid, there were more subtle ways to do it.” His voice wasn’t judgemental, just commenting, more like he was giving her shit for being caught. 

Glynda’s face went bright red. “I- I… I was one time, a mistake that will not repeat itself. Besides he is not my student anymore If I have to remind you.”

Qrow just shrugged, leaning against the wall opposite her but seven or so steps up, sliding down until he was sitting. Her doing the same though now even more defeated. “I tried to argue so badly against his plan, but it really does make sense doesn’t it? I hate putting the kids in danger, but do we really have a choice?”

He didn’t respond to her, silently drawing the lines of the stonework in front of him. 

“I hate the idea any of them will one day have to take this fight from us. They don’t know what’s waiting for them out there, Isn’t it our job to make the world safer for them? Protect them? Now we have to send children out to fight a battle we barely made any headway on.” Some hair fell out of that perfect bun, she adjusted her glasses but anyone could see that composure slipping. “Maybe James is right to plan an offensive while we have the tools to do so. If you weren’t there Salem would have one of the maidens and without knowing where Spring and Summer are, we would only have one.”

Qrow pulled himself up onto his feet and took a few steps down, each footfall echoing in the silence of her words until he was five or six down from her. “Funny how Ironwood will have two maidens and the battery power to supercharge them, all loyal to him. I trust Ironwood, I trust him with my life, but there’s a reason he is the general of Atlas, not their king. Giving a man like James ultimate power is…” 

He didn’t finish that thought. “I’m going to go play video games with my nieces, take my mind off all this. Call up your boy toy, relieve some stress. You deserve it.”

Glynda felt her face get hot, a blush spreading over her cheeks. “He’s not my-”

Then again, I have been working hard, she admitted to herself.

When Qrow got to the bottom step there was actually someone he hadn’t expected waiting for him, Winter and Ace, James speaking with them both. They were talking about something when they saw him and stopped. 

“Oh don’t stop on my account, please, keep talking about dumb adult things, like taxes and showering twice a week.” 

“Twice a-” Ace stared at him hoping that he showered at least that much.

“Qrow.” Ironwood stepped forward and got close enough that it looked like he might be trying to intimidate the other hunter. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the other man pulling him in for a surprise hug that left Qrow speechless. “I appreciate you keeping me honest.”

Pulling back he kept his hand on Qrows Shoulder, looking at his wide eyes with a bright smile. “You and Glynda both, I don’t want to be the only one who gets a say, needing to defend my plans, actions, it's… refreshing, it’s good.”

“Y-you’re welcome?” Qrow was baffled. 

“If anything happens, you always have a place in Atlas.”

“Sir?” Winter sounded incredulous. 

“It’s always good seeing you, Qrow.” Patting his shoulder and taking his leave, letting Qrow sit there with the invitation looming over his head. He didn’t too long to think about it before a red bundle of roses attacked him, hanging off his arm and pulling him away to play videogames, the worries of Maidens, power supplies, Grimm and Salem could wait for another day.

__________________________________________________

Awkward, a word that we all understood at a base level. However, there wasn’t quite anything like sitting in a chair across from your best friend who you saw getting Finger banged by someone who hates you, with your new girlfriend laying in your bed behind you, all four of you jammed together in silence with the low melody of needing to explain to your mom that you can’t talk right now and that you’ll call her right back playing along in front of it. 

Jaune had wanted to wait to have this conversation.

Not the one with his mom, that one he could have had whenever.

No, the conversation with Amber and Harpy was one he was hoping to have never, he kind of wished he just woke up and it was all a dream, but instead Pale had convinced him after they woke up that no, he should go and confront them now, that talking would be the best course of action. 

When he opened the Door Amber had hugged him, but he had also noticed from the fact Harpy was still there and was wearing the same clothes that she’d spent the night. Jaune steeled himself and convinced them to sit down so that they could talk about last night, only for his Scroll to ring, his mom seldom called but his first instinct was to turn it off, only she called back immediately, so he assumed it was an emergency. 

It was not. Well, mostly, see it had slipped his mind to tell her that he was now someone important at Atlas Military, and she wanted to yell at him for not calling more often. With his face in his palm, his bravado already ruined.

Harpy just had a high and mighty smirk on her face, leering down at him with her own self-importance. Pale already made herself at home by folding his shirts still in the laundry basket he hadn’t bothered putting away yet. 

“Yes, mom I love you too. M-mo-mom I’m bu-” She kept talking over him, the yapping of her voice audible but not intelligible for everyone else. “I’m b-bu-s- Yes I love you too, I’ll call more often, I’m busy mom, I nee- I nee- to go, I love you!” 

Hanging up the phone with a sigh he looked over to see Pale fluffing his pillow and making his bed, picking up the glass he had on his bedside table and collecting it with the few other bits of trash and dumping them into the trash can nearby. 

His eyes drifted back over to Amber and Harpy. “Well, there goes my steam.” He bemoaned, rolling his shoulders and leaned back in the chair, flipping his tangled long blond hair out of his eyes. “Sooo, this is kind of awkward.”

“Just a little, ever heard of knocking?” Harpy grumbled. “Lucky we don’t press for harassment to be honest.” 

Amber looked over her shoulder and shot her a look that made the Pink haired punk look away with a roll of her eyes. “Jaune... I… That, was…” She was trying to find the words to describe it. “I’m surprised you’re not angry with me, You’re disappointed in me though.”

“I…” there was no point in lying, he had wanted to be angry but just couldn’t find it in him to be mad with her. “I was on a date, I hardly get to decide who you’re..” He was going to say fucking but thought better of it. “Who you’re seeing.”

“Hello there,” Pale called from the corner from which she was organizing his notes alphabetically.

“You don’t get to anyways, dude, she decides who has her muffin for breakfast, and last I checked you’re the one who clam blocked me, we should be mad at -you-.” Harpy was holding back curses he could tell, and the glare she got from him was the first time he’d seen her reconsider what she’d said. 

“Harpy!” Amber sounded defeated. “I’m sorry, we should have told you we were taking the room.” 

Jaune hardly thought that was the point. The real issue he had was so far from what he could actually say, it was complicated.

He was upset because it was Harpy, if she brought some random dude home and slept with him he wouldn’t have been upset. Okay, he would have been, but he would have been happier she found someone who made her happy, her friendship mattered more to him than his feelings for her, especially when he’d found Pale, but Harpy was a whole other story.

It wasn’t just that she was a bad person, but it was how she treated Jaune, Jaune didn’t want to be around her, and if these two were going to be spending all their time together Jaune knew eventually he’d spend less time with Amber, not because he didn’t like her. But because he just wouldn’t want to put himself into a needlessly abusive situation. 

“We should probably set some ground rules then, obviously we don’t want that happening again.”

Harpy looked at Amber and then back to him, both of them seeming in mild surprise. 

“Y-you’re not going to.. Get mad at us, or force me out?” Amber asked with a mild enough tone that Jaune realized she was scared about them not being friends anymore and him making her move in with Harpy instead of letting him stay here.

“What? No of course not.” The words were out before he could find better ones. “I just hate her, you're still my friend.”

Harpy winced when he said that, but honestly she deserved worse. “I’m right here, asshole.”

“Might have been a bit harsh, not unwarranted, but you shouldn’t say it out loud,” Pale commented from the other side of the room, rearranging the minifridge with all of their groceries. 

“Jaune.” Amber got up from her hair and took a step towards him, getting his attention before pressing against him hard, holding him tight and hugging him close. “I’m so glad!”

That got everyone’s attention, Pale looking on with a strange emotion wafting off her, while Harpy just looked away with a little red on her indignant cheeks. Jaune was surprised to feel Jealousy on her.

Wait, he felt? Was he feeling their emotions off of Amber? His brain shifted from that to feel the sheer worry and relief that was coming off of his wolf-girl friend. She really had been scared he wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore, hadn’t she? 

He put his hand on the back of that impossibly thick head of hair, patting it slowly and hugging him with the other arm. “You and me together, until the end, remember? I’m not going anywhere even if you find someone else to share your life with. Same with me, I’ll want you here no matter what.”

“I’m so sorry Jaune, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She didn’t need to apologize but it did make him feel warm, happy to know she cared about his feelings. She wasn’t sorry for what she did and she didn’t have to, he didn’t want that. But she was sorry about how it hurt him, and that meant the world to him.

“You don’t need to be sorry, dummy.” Harpy tsk’d.

“You wanted to apologize too!” Amber growled, not keeping her head from Jaune’s shoulder.

“I! I did- NOT!” Harpy blushed even harder making it obvious she very much did. Jaune couldn’t help but smile, there was still part of him that felt weird about the whole thing, but finally prying Amber from his shoulder so she could go back to sitting, he felt Amber from behind him, press up and hold him close.

C-could he still feel jealousy off her? Why was he still feeling Amber’s Semblance and why was Pale... Happy? Happy and jealous at the same time, it was a weird cocktail of emotions. “I do think ground rules are important. I don’t mind Jaune and Amber living together but I do have to admit as petty as it might seem I am a little jealous of two women sharing his room.”

“Pale, you don’t have anything to worry about.” Jaune put his hand over hers trying to act compassionate and express that she truly didn’t have anything to worry about, he was loyal, loyal to a fault honestly because he didn’t even consider that Pale was more worried about Amber and Harpy.

“Why not move in too?” Amber smiled brightly “I’ve always wanted more girlfriends!”

“Girls who are friends.” Harpy made sure to make it clear.

“Dude! It’s going to be so dope! We get to talk about makeup and do each other’s hair!” Amber seemed so excited, eyes practically bulging while she excitedly pumped her arms up and down, so hyped to get more friends.”

“Did you say dope?” Hyper raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t even wear makeup.”

“It makes me feel like I’m wearing mud on my face!” her voice whined, groaning in displeasure.

“We should do face masks! I have this amazing Charcoal scrub we should try!” Amelia seemed to be getting into the idea, almost as excited as Amber. Jaune just lamented how quickly the mood shifted when Amber got excited, it was literally infectious. 

“Please don’t encourage her.” Harpy just sighed, and for the first time Jaune felt this, he felt that deep in his soul. The same playful exhaustion with Amber’s endless enthusiasm taking a toll on them both.

“Okay, so it’s decided we’re all going to live together.”

“I didn’t agree to that.” Harpy piped up. “Buuut, it would be the best option.” She grumbled, eyes avoiding Pale and Jaune both. 

“So besides that, obviously we don’t want to walk in on each other.” Pale threw in offhandedly. Which implied a lot by it, a lot that everyone seemed to have taken note of because Jaune. Until, five seconds later when his head turned to look at her, realizing what she just said.

“Well… “ Amber hummed, mulling that over, putting her chin in her hands. “Well, I don’t care-”

“Consider, I do?” Harpy called out, moving from her place on the wall and moving over to the mini-fridge and taking a Soda out of the bottom. “Amelia, Jaune give me your contact, I’ll message you if we’re doing it, message us if you’re… being gross.”

“It’s Pale, are you always like this?” Pale squinted, putting her hands on her hips.

“Yes, next question?” her reply was curt and filled to the gills with sass.

“When’s breakfast?” Amber wondered idly, not really expecting an answer. 

“This works for the foreseeable future, fine.” Jaune waved the question away and got between the two heated girls. “By the way, we can go down for food in a few minutes.” Answering Amber who looked overjoyed at the prospect. “What happens once we all form teams and suddenly we’re all in different rooms? Huh?”

“You decide the teams, Dumbass.” With all of her infinite sarcasm, Harpy made sure to pack an additional little umph into that line. “There’s four of us, I don’t see the problem.”

“The problem is-” Jaune started to answer but stopped, the problem seemed obvious but putting it into words that didn’t just offend everyone here was harder to do. He couldn’t play favourites, was an obvious one. Picking his girlfriend, -he had a girlfriend, what a good fucking day,- and his best friend’s girlfriend to all be on a team together was exploiting that responsibility. 

Then there was also the issue of their compatibility, Amber and Harpy were two of the best front linger fighters in the school, putting them on the same team was silly. Not to mention that Harpy was good, sure, but her semblance would be easily outmatched by other hunters and huntresses easily. All it took was one strength semblance, someone who could move faster than her heightened reactions. 

Yang and Ruby both would easily be able to beat her, Weiss who could keep at range, Blake who could block line of sight. Nora could overpower her, Pyrrha and Ren might have trouble but Pyrrha had experience and talent.

Amber was strong, needlessly so, her semblance was next to useless in practical combat though, she also could not use guns and was more of a hazard to her teammates when using them. So putting them together left too many openings. 

Now Pale was smart a great mind to have but she’d shown no interest in being tactically minded, it often looked like she would take more of a medic role or some support for the team giving information or interrogating enemies without the need for violence. Which would be fine against white fang members or rogue hunters, but internally useless against the Grimm. Putting her on the same team as Amber and Harpy, was like shooting an already limp horse in its own leg.

Then there was him. Jaune Arc, below-average marks, below-average combat score and no Semblance. He was a dead weight to any team he put himself on, it wasn’t fair to have them lug his uselessness around.

“I don’t think this would be a good team.” He finally said after much thought. “We would be very strong in mock combat with rules and regulations but would be horrible in practice. Pale and I can hardly fight and you two would have no way to deal with something that fights from a range like a Nevermore.”

Harpy opened her mouth to say something but the voice died on her tongue. Obviously, she wanted to argue that she’d be fine but it was really hard to come up with anything smart to say. The room was silent. 

“Even if I put you three on a team it would make much more sense to pair you up with someone who was adept at range combat, a sniper or explosives user like Elm or Marrow.” He shrugged just picking two of the ace ops for examples. “I don’t even have a semblance, I’d be useless to you guys.”

“Jaune.” Pale’s considered tone from behind him made everyone look at her. “Do you think you don’t have a semblance?”

Now it was his turn to be confused, along with everyone else, his head tilted to the side, a perplexing look crossing his face. “I… I don’t?” 

“No, you do. Jaune I can tell the Semblances and Aura of people I touch, I wouldn’t be able to sense your Aura if you didn’t have a semblance.”

“Wait, I have a semblance?” Jaune felt something, it was mostly shock but there was like a little bit of hopefulness ebbing in there too. What could his semblance be if he hadn’t noticed it? Oh no it’s super lame isn’t it?

“I mean it’s not that simple, I can like, feel how it acts, it's not like they have names or express purposes.” She tried to find the words for it, chewing on the nail of her thumb. “It’s like… Well, take Clover’s Semblance for example, I wouldn’t just feel ‘good luck’ come off of him, that’s so bizarre, what does that even feel like? How would I taste or smell good luck? But, I feel this odd sensation of the world around him feeling wobbly, like his arua changes things close to him, like his subconscious is touching the world around him to change the outcome of events. It feels random because he’s not thinking about it and sometimes there’s things that happen which he could have never known would happen, it’s like magic, so we call it good luck, but it's just the name we gave it, it feels like… like a liquid all around him.”

“He’s so goopy.” Amber said with so much reverence that Jaune couldn’t help but crack up a little, smirking at the inane chatter.

“For you it’s like.. Like warm? But not fire warm, you’re connecting your aura to everyone around you, taking their colour and adding it to yours, like… like a bank… but for aura.” Pale tried to explain but it was clear she didn’t have a good answer for him, she was lacking for the specific word she wanted to use.

“So Clover is wet and Jaune has bad touch, that doesn’t help us.” Harpy rolled her eyes.

That seemed to be the line that she’d finally crossed where Pale stepped forward in front of Jaune. “Why are you being such a brat about this? We’re trying to work things out and you’re being unbelievably rude!”

Harpy just smiled and shook her head, endlessly entertained by the annoyance of the more proper woman. Though a stern look from amber made her look away and take a more serious tone. “Whatever princess, this revelation doesn’t change what the boy wonder there said, we’re a garbage team.”

“I feel like that’s a really lit name though.” Amber leaned back dangerously in her chair, Harpy and Jaune both inwardly cringing at her using the word ‘lit’.

“That could mean his semblance fixes our issues.” Pale tried to reason.

“Besides we all want to be on a team together, I don’t know why we’re fighting about it.” the flippant tone Amber used matched the way she rocked back and forth on the chairs back legs with zero regard for her own safety. 

But she was right, no one argued against her. 

“That empathy bullshit of yours sucks.” Harpy muttered under her breath, clearly embarrassed about wanting to be on Pale and Jaune’s team. “Last rule is that Jaune has to stay to his side of the room, I don’t want him touching my underwear or being weird.”

“I can assure you, I have zero interest in your underwear.” Jaune leveled his gaze at her, setting his jaw in a hard line. 

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure mine will keep him interested.” Pale practically purred, making Harpy go even more red, a little annoyance creeping into her features, that blush matched Jaune's own face, put his nose down into his palm, trying to hide from the embarrassment of some very personal display of affection.

“Pale, that’s..” Wait she was going to show him her underwear? That sounded like it should be hot, honestly he preferred to see her in it… or without it not that he thought about it.

“You guys wear underwear?” Amber perked up, looking from Pale to Harpy.

“Ya… D-do you not?” There was some genuine concern in Harpy’s tone.

“I mean like, not normally.” Amber shrugged, not really paying attention to how every single person in the room was looking at her with a mesmerized look, every single one of them transfixed on the idea that the plump, curvy wolf girl wasn’t wearing any underwear at the moment. “Like if we go out, sure. But if it’s just classes or breakfast, fuck it.”

“Fuuuuuu~” the breath word from Harpy was shared by the other two people in the room, everyone more than a little turned on.

“Right- S-so. Yeah. We can bring this up later…. I’ll- I’ll uh- stay to my side.” Jaune wiped some sweat from his brow, standing up and pulling at the collar of his shirt. “We-we uh, should move all your stuff down here, right Pale?”

Pale shook her head, blinking twice before she looked back to Jaune. “Yea-yeah, I uhh.. You two go ahead to Breakfast… we’l… we’ll catch up.”

“Have fun you two!” Amber called after them, watching Pale’s rear bounce with each step as she walked, being less than coy about watching it. It didn’t take long for Jaune and Pale to step outside, leaving the wolf girl and her punk-rock girlfriend alone in the room. “They gunna fuck.”

“And I should care?” Harpy rolled her eyes.

“I mean you are pretty jealous every time Pale gets close to him.”

“I- I never should have told you I thought he was cute. You cannot keep a secret for your life”

“You can just bump his uglies, I’m sure he’d love it.” Amber got up from her chair, walking towards the mini-fridge and taking out a soda.

“That’s not how bumping- nevermind. I’m not fucking Jaune, He’s a loser and I have standards, just because he’s attractive doesn’t mean he’s worth the loss of dignity.” Harpy squirmed a little when she added- “Besides, I’m with you.”

“Harpy.”

“I know you said that- but listen, I…” She grumbled and kicked her feet against the carpet, Amber coming up beside her and pulling her into a hug so that Harpy’s head was laying against her impressive chest. To which yes, Harpy could attest she was not wearing underwear. 

“I get it.” That was all Amber said. The pouting Harpy just wrapping her arms around her partner.

“Dumby. Making me feel things, how dare you.” They sat down together on the bed. “You know this whole thing would be so much easier if you just didn’t hit me and none of this happened.”

“Yeah.” Amber paused, making Harpy look up with a raised eyebrow. “If I didn’t fist your face-”

“Phrasing.”

“Then you’d still be alone, but now you have all of us.” Amber started to slowly pat her pink hair. “And my rocking tits. Maybe Pale’s mommy milkers too.”

“We need to get you away from the internet.”

____________________________________________

Needless to say Jaune and Pale did not go back to her room to sleep with one another. The move went smoothly, with all of them filling out the quite large dorm room, two bunks beds, four dressers, two tables and one bathroom, quite nicely. 

You might think one bathroom was enough but there was a public bathroom down that hall which unfortunately meant that Jaune did in fact brush his teeth in that one so the girls could get ready in the morning. The first week was of course a little awkward, changing, in particular, was often Jaune taking his change of clothes and leaving for the public bathroom, or being shut into their bathroom while the girls changed in the main area.

While you might have thought that Harpy was the pickiest she ended up being the most relaxed, often leaving her clothes around, bras hanging off hangers or chairs, she wasn’t by any means a mess, but often she’d just leave a set of clothing on a floor for an hour or two before picking it up. For someone who made such a horrible fuss about it, she didn’t care about anyone seeing her underwear, apparently. 

Jaune had to admit though that at least for the first week it was weird to see Amber and Harpy kissing, seeing them just a peck or accidentally walking in on them making out, watching a movie on their scroll in bed.

Then again it wasn’t like he and Pale were any better. More than once Pale walked into the whole group just wearing her underwear to get a rise out of him, making sure to come and sit right next to him in only the frilly white silk of her panties, more than once she’d unclasp her bra to just wrap up in a blanket, making sure he could still see that deep line of heavenly cleavage, with a wink and a kiss.

Though honestly, it was Amber who took the most interest, on more than one occasion just blatantly staring at the bust Atlesian. 

There were some issues. Harpy did once threaten everyone she’d kill them all and then herself because she thought someone ate her last pudding cup until she found it.

There was no apology.

Amber did spend one night running around the courtyard, and while Jaune called it a team-building exercise, the whole team did have to work together to get her untangled from a brush outside, of course before any security guards found them. 

Pale did leave for a day to go home and see her family, to which there was a heavy tension in which she practically threatened Amber and Harpy that if anything happened to them, she’d kill them all. All said with the most pleasant smile across her beautiful features. 

As for Jaune…. Well, he hadn’t made a scene, and honestly, even Harpy had grown bearable. The issue was well… being pent up. 

Needless to say, it was hard enough to jerk off before, Amber constantly being around him meant that he was sneaking off to get precious minutes alone, but it always had to be satisfying little moments in public restrooms because she’d have smelt it if it was in their room. Her nose was good like that. Now with three women around him, it was only getting worse. Pale was the worst offender, constantly teasing him. But, Harpy accidentally walking out with just a tank top and panties hadn’t helped, her fantastic athletic ass pert and jiggling in his mind even now. 

Not to mention if Jaune wasn’t thinking about his girlfriend’s tits, Amber was talking about them, just amazed that they could ever get that big. Asking Jaune if he thought hers would get that big. 

Jaune just wanted to get off so badly.

Normally he needed forty-five to an hour but honestly, he was pretty sure that all he needed was fifteen. Maybe less honestly. Tonight would be so, so bad for that too. Amber and Harpy were going out, apparently, Harpy had gotten tickets to a concert and specifically made eye contact with Jaune when she said she’d only gotten three tickets. Pale opted out and decided to stay in.

Part of Jaune recognized the look of pity that spread across Harpy’s face when Pale declined. Was.. was Harpy trying to help him bust that blue nut? Wild to think Harpy would ever help him at all, then again maybe Harpy just wanted to get more of an eyeful of Pale that she was already getting. Neither Amber nor Harpy were very good at hiding their wandering eyes. 

So that meant that he and Pale would be alone, to kiss and cuddle and have Pale pamper him, but he honestly couldn’t take any more, his balls were so blue, he wanted to sneak off and jerk off in peace. 

Pale had been so affectionate, it was honestly wonderful, but without the release, it was hard to appreciate fully. She would pull him in between those heavenly mounds of tit-flesh, patting his head and letting him fall asleep on her, she’d let him lay his head on her lap while she was studying, playing with his hair. She’d even ask to do things like clean his ears or blow-dry his hair after a shower. It was a little like having a mom but she seemed to enjoy taking care of him, even if he insisted on doing it himself sometimes, not wanting to take advantage of her.

Hell he even offered to do the same for her and though she’d only accepted once, a massage and doing their laundry had been fun, enjoyable, he could see why she liked doing it so much.

The only thing that’s suffered besides his nut-free lifestyle, was his relationship with Amber. Pale took her role of cuddling up with him at night. Harpy had butted into their training sessions, with all four working out together at the same gym with the same kelp shakes, Harpy did have to apologize for the mess she made. 

Amber and he just didn’t have time to spend together without the others, they still liked playing video games, talking, spending time together. But, as Jaune had thought, it was harder to keep that intimate, loving relationship when both of them were in loving intimate relationships. He could feel a pang in his chest thinking about it, wanting nothing more than to open up and keep that friendship going, but things were different. Things were so, so different. 

Sometimes they would lean their heads against each other laying on the ground, letting Harpy play music, and Jaune liked to pretend it was all a dream, that he’d open his eyes and it would be so many days ago, waking up after his first night here. There was a touch of melancholy about that though, he supposed change was like that, which sucked.

Still, now and then walking into Harpy and Amber exciting racing in some video game, or brawling in a side scroller, not even noticing him they’re so enraptured in the game brought a warmth to his heart. Amber was happy, Harpy was bearable, he supposed, it was a good life he’d found himself in. 

Now sure this was soon for all these barely adults to start living together but Atlas was very good at how the teams worked, there was a trial week, after which the teams became legitimate, but even then every month there was an anonymous check-in to make sure that everyone was happy with their teams and living situations. 

Likewise, if Jaune felt like a team wasn’t working out as he had hoped, he could also change them so long as he gave them proper notice, three months, to elect the change. He was their class captain after all, not just the leader of his team. That lesson was something that took him more than one reminder from Pale to get through his head.

That was an issue for another day though, today he simply had to get through classes and get home to his loving girlfriend, make her some dinner and spend the night watching movies in her lap. Trying not to think about the painfully fat nut he was resisting the urge to bust.

“Mr. Arc. Can you see what’s wrong with this plan of attack?” While normally they wouldn’t have such a renowned huntress teaching a simple class, The Huntress they had asked to teach the class hadn’t arrived on campus yes, so Winter Schnee was the one standing at the blackboard going over a specific battle during the last great war.

Jaune remembered this same lecture from back at Beacon, it wasn’t as simple as night vision, this was a real lesson about positioning and formation, but he never got the answer out of his professor and he was hopelessly lost on it. Three groups… four... Divisions of… Jaune sighed inwardly, why was he always picked for these sorts of things? How was he supposed to know what to do when outnumbered along the tundra’s-

Wait.. he did know the answer, it felt obvious in retrospect, weird that he hadn’t thought of it sooner but- “It’s the middle of summer and they positioned themselves on the other side of a lake, arming the soldiers with horses thinking you could run down the enemy forces would only add extra weight to the ice.”

Winter seemed genuinely impressed, giving him an approving look of surprise. “Very good. What would you do instead?” 

“I would… wait them out, we have the numbers and supplies. It makes more sense to wait them out and see if they surrender.” His voice sounded uneasy, it was a good plan but not amazing, waiting out the enemy while both sides were in the frozen Atlesian tundra… 

“Very good, that’s the answer that the Atlas general chose too. You would be wrong in most cases for taking this option.” There was a however lingering in the air. “However-” Called it. “Both sides neglected to take into account the negative emotions brought about by starving in the cold, Grimm advanced and neither side was strong enough to fend them off. They call this battle the massacre on sanguine lake for a reason.” Everyone in the room continued to write down notes until Winter spoke up again. “Anyone else?”

Someone from farther to the front. “Charge them on foot? Take them out before the Grimm shows up and use our superior numbers to defeat the enemy?”

“Again not a bad idea, but the general would need to march back across seventy miles of frozen tundra with only six horses. If anyone got injured they would not receive medical attention in time and would surely bleed out before making it to Atlas.” Winter tapped the drawing of the map she’d made to show the distance they’d need to travel. “And with only barely enough food and dry wood to make it back, slowing down to keep care of injured soldiers would put everyone in danger.”

“Would it be possible to use the Grimm to attack the enemy when they show up?” a Girl behind him.

“Generals have used the Grimm as weapons before but it never works out as intended, the Grimm know no masters and will turn on the General after they finish off their enemy, which brings up the distance and cold all over again.”

“What would be the best course of action in this case?” This time it was Harpy who asked, more with annoyance than anything else.

“Unfortunately there is no good option, but when considering matters of life and death in war, the best option would be to ask for their surrender, and if they refuse it would be best to shatter the ice if you can and retreat to fight another time.” Everyone was a little stunned, it seemed counterintuitive that when given the advantage, large number of forces, better equipment and training and the element of surprise that the best course of action would be to retreat or hope for surrender. “Of course this leaves the chance they won’t surrender, but it is the gamble which results in the least amount of risk.”

“Doesn’t that run the risk of the soldiers we let live attacking us as we return to atlas?” Jaune asked, forgetting to raise his hand.

Winter just gave him a look but decided to answer his question anyway. “They have fewer supplies and their base is in the opposite direction, chasing after the general and his forces would lead to their own death regardless if they won the battle or not. This does take control out of the general’s hands but without the ice bed in the way, they would be able to use the horses to secure the victory. The General may suffer losses but they would suffer losses in any scenario, this at least gives both sides the option of leaving alive.”

“Isn’t that conceding defeat?” The girl who asked the first question brought up when called upon. “Nothing was gained from the attack, The general wasted time and resources to gain no ground.”

“This is unfortunately true. However, I do not think calling it a defeat would be accurate. It is only a defeat if you cannot fight again. Let me ask you class, which is more important, to win or not to lose?” Winter stood prim and proper at the front of her desk, hands behind her back with a ruler clutched in her palm just in case anyone acted out, looking directly at Jaune.

They were the same thing though, synonyms by definition. Yet… “To not lose,” Jaune muttered.

“No one?” Winter asked, looking around the room as the answer dawned on the classes, Captain. “Well, the answer is to not lose. If the general had won this fight, which he technically did, the ground would be gained from the campaign. However, history shows that his sacrifice led to infighting and a lack of leadership which led to countless lost battles and untold loss of life in the battles to come.”

She paused for effect. “It is better to live and fight another day than to achieve victory at the cost of defeat.” 

The bell rang saving the students from their torment of a lecture by the least interesting Schnee woman in the world. Even if most of the men in the class had a secret crush on her. Jaune got up, being the only straight man in the class who didn’t care for her, she was a Schnee after all. Not to mention his plans later tonight were with a woman ten times her better in every regard.

“Alright everyone your new teacher will be in for your next class to get chapters seven and twelve read so you can show them you’ve read ahead for their lecture. Class dismissed.” Everyone started to pack up their gear, books and pencils returning to bags and folders. “Not you Mr. Arc, Ironwood wants you to go see Dr. Polendina about further training, Understood?”

Jaune normally would have sighed inwardly about adding more stress to his day, but the few days he’d spent actually training with the General and other teachers, learning the proper way to respond and greet his superiors he answered with a hand to his temple and a straight back. “Ma’am.” 

A confirmation that did not go unnoticed, she gave him an approving nod, looking rather proud of the young Arc.

Maybe she wasn’t so bad, as far as Schnee’s go.

Leaving the class he made his way down the halls towards the research and development section of the academy. Passing by a few of his other students he got pleasant smiles, some even waved, he raised his hand to wave back. Another student passed by him, stopping and giving him an ‘upnod’. “See ya’ tomorrow.”

Jaune didn’t have to answer, they were already gone by the time he’d indicated in the affirmative but there was an odd sense that followed him through the halls of his school. Not quite able to put his fingers on the sensation and why it felt so odd.

Still it wasn’t worth the effort to really think about it, instead he had apparently a job to do.

The research and development lab was a stunning display of Atlesian advancements, robots, weaponry, aura amplification. Everything from new dust powered armour to the vast array of weaponry. Now just that but also new engines for cars and trains, new communication devices. The building itself room upon room of these assorted labs with the best and brightest minds Atlas, and honestly, all of Remnant had to offer.

He passed by rooms dedicated to explosives, dedicated to rifles, dedicated to lures and bait to distract Grimm. Through the vast layered floor that was dedicated to combating the threat of Grimm. All the way to the largest and most well equipped lab in the whole building. 

This was Ironwood’s pride and joy, a team of scientists that were the top of their field, all working together to come up with the best weapon to fight back against the Grimm. Jaune had only heard rumors, so far but the favorite story Amber liked to perpetuate was that they were going to make a giant mecha suit that required two pilots and it would have a giant sword that it could use to fight against the kaiju Grimm when they attacked.

Jaune didn’t have the heart to tell her that already existed. 

During his first week he’d been introduced to the team, mostly because he would eventually be working with them to make weapons and equipment requisitions for his class, one of his many responsibilities. Which has been awkward meeting Pale’s oldest sister that way. Another equally busty woman, though a little on the shorter side, short black hair with glasses, Diana Pale was one of the researchers alongside Dr Polendina. 

Though her research had looked into the application of Gravity dust fields to create high density areas of pressure- Jaune didn’t understand all of it, but effectively it would be like using a cannon to launch Grimm away from the city as they got close, keeping soldiers safe and sending Grimm flying. 

It was an okay idea.

Jaune pressed the buzzer to be let in when a posh gentlemanly voice echoed from the other side. “Yes?” It rattled, practically purring, it was a deep male voice that had an inflection of a proper english accent. “I don’t have time to babysit, is this important?”

“Ironwood wanted me to stop by, apparently Dr. Polendina wanted me to see something.” He answered through the intercom. 

“Ah yes, Project Arc. Hmm Fine I suppose you can come in.” There was a loud buzzing sound and the sliding doors to the lab opened up, letting the blonde student into the stark white laboratory. Though it looked more like an operating room, save for the workbenches and tools, computer parts instead of limbs and organs, and massive robotic machine arms to perform complex minute detail work.

Jaune entered to see the only person still working, and clearly had been for some time judging by the bags under his eyes. They hadn’t even shared a word, Jaune stepping towards a break counter and pouring out still heated coffee into a mug and stirring some creamer into it. 

His feet taking from towards the workbench the only other person here occupied with feverish diligence. His slicked-back brown hair matched by the curl of his upward mustache, he was a man with a bit of an attitude but nothing Jaune didn’t get worse from Harpy and honestly he was kind. There was a sense that all of his backhanded compliments were earnest and with a certain fondness. 

The man looked up and from Jaune to the coffee, both men now had a mug in their hand as the scientist stretched his hand to take it. “I could have gotten that myself, I hope you’re not expecting anything in return for this.”

“Never do, Arthur.” Jaune took a sip and smiled, looking down at the thing he was working on, looking like some sort of robotic eyeball. 

“That’s Doctor Watts. I may not be your teacher but I am still your better.”

“Of course sir, because you’re always one for keeping with formalities.” Jaune gave him a conspiratorial wink and took another sip of his coffee. “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing safety glasses while working here?”

“When I want to be lectured by a room temperature IQ, I’ll go attend a class by one of those lap dog ace operatives.” Watts waved his hand around and took a mouthful of coffee before setting it down with a thud. “You’re lucky I even give you the time I do, there aren’t many students I can tolerate coming in here and touching things with their grubby, greasy fingers.”

“Aw, and here I remember you talking about how much you liked havin’ him around.” The deep rumbling tones of the scientist Jaune was actually here to see, came with a heavy base that Jaune could feel in his chest. Pietro Polendina, the lead of this program and the head of the entire research and development team, even if he said the program all ran it together, they all had to answer to.

“Pietro, you shouldn’t make things up, it’s truly unbecoming of you.” 

The laugh that followed from the dark-skinned doctor was a hearty belly laugh, one that resounded through the entire room like a base drum next to a microphone, you could feel it in your core. Pietro walked out with his robotic chair, the man having been in it for a long time from what Jaune understood.

“Of course, light forbid anyone thinks you hava’ heart.” When the larger man got close he put his hand on the posh Watt’s shoulder and brushed his finger against the other man’s cheek, looking at him with a certain amount of care in his eye. Watts just leaning in and enjoying the skinship. “You’ve been up all night haven’t’cha?”

“I don’t remember our vows saying anything about you being my mother.” Watts countered back. “Besides we have a guest, one here for the prestigious and almighty Dr. Polendina, you can shower me with platitudes afterwards. We’ll make a date of it.”

Jaune just waved his hand, waving at Pietro and giving the two scientists a sly knowing smile. “Oh no please, I love seeing Watts actually have to be nice for once.”

“So would I.” Pietro just let out a teasing laugh and pat his husband on the back, “But of course, we can’t keep making Mr. Arc waiting. Diana said you have a date tonight, we should let you get off to that.”

“Ah to be young and stupid again,” Watts said with some reverent, wistful thought.

“Well c’mere, I’ve got something to show you.” Jaune following him to a series of blueprints on a table, looking at what appeared to be a skeleton made of metal, with an overlay of a female form on top of it. The larger man pushed those aside and laid out a series of different blueprints. Gauntlets, a bo-staff, a Lyre. “I drew up those designs you wanted, I’m a little concerned that you didn’t want me to add any ranged weaponry.”

“I uh… I don’t trust amber with a gun.” Jaune felt a little red having to admit that. “Pale and I aren’t… we aren’t fighters.”

“Thus the Lyre.” The doctor remarked. “Aura projection shields, assisted by elemental dust. It’s a smart idea. Took a lot of work to design so small.” 

Jaune liked the praise but had to admit that the idea wasn’t actually his, he thought back to Blake, remembering her Semblance of using dust to make elemental clones. “You didn’t make a weapon for yourself though.”

“I… I have one.” Jaune touched the hilt of Crocea Mors. A sword his family-owned, something that still made him feel that little thread of twine towards his home. It was hardly a fitting weapon, it worked back when there was a war, but against Grimm it was often lacking. 

Like him.

“I’ll draw something up and see if you like it.” Pietro offered, rolling up the designs. “But that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”

That actually got Jaune’s attention. He put down his mug of coffee, now empty looking at the kindly large man across from him, pulling himself up so that he was sitting down on the counter behind him. “See, you’re actually going to be getting a new student in your class.”

“Oh?”

“Watts and I have told Ironwood, as well as a few of our colleges. However, since you’re the captain we want you to know first, We’re making a daughter.” There was so much pride welling up in the face of the grandfatherly man, Jaune couldn’t help but feel the infectious excitement surge through him.

Until. Make?

“Sir, you’re adopting?” Jaune’s brow furrowed.

Pietro just smiled and scratched his chin. “Something like that.” Jaune hoped he didn’t mean something like kidnapping someone, but then again if Ironwood knew about it, there must be something going on here. The larger man shifted and spoke again “ I hope you’ll help Penny settle in when she arrives.”

Jaune just put his hand behind his head, scratching the nape of his neck and feeling a little blush on his cheeks, they wanted him to help show her around? He guessed he was in charge, but the idea that they would outright ask him to help was flattering. 

Then he felt that weird odd feeling in his gut. That feeling he had walking down the halls, was satisfaction. It was the feeling of having a place of feeling wanted, loved might be a stretch but it was weird to have that sudden realization that you’re a part of a group. Jaune wasn’t just a de facto leader, but he was liked, people liked seeing him, or at least weren’t actively aggressive towards him.

When he walked around in Beacon it was always weird, Cardin would taunt him, Weiss sneering, Ren and Nora playfully teasing him. Yang would punch him in the shoulder which was friendly but it was a joke, him falling and everyone laughing. 

Here he was respected, liked, someone that people smiled at in the hallways. Someone with friends, mentors. 

“Of course, sir. I’ll make sure she feels at home!” Jaune felt a pang of pride in his chest, a smile across his face. 

“Good! I gotta get to work on these weapons, but feel free to stick around and Make fun of Watts as much as you want.” Pietro gives him a wink and re-rolls back up the blueprints he’d left. “And Diana wants you to say hi to her sister for her, and that she should stop by to say hi.”

Jaune nodded and kicked himself off the counter. “I’ll do that, thank you, Pietro.”

“Dr. Polendina!” Watts called from the distance, making sure Jaune showed some real respect.

Which of course should have been the end of this meeting, but before Jaune could leave the room it was actually Dr. Watts that stopped him, putting up a hand before he passed by and waving him over. “I got this for your date, only a fool would forget to get their loved one a gift and you Jaune Arc, might be a fool but if you’re going to be leading my Daughter, I’ll have to teach you not to be.”

Handing out a small cotton bag, Jaune only peaked in from the string pulled opening. Seeing a bundle of chocolates and candies. “Pietro loves sweets, so it’s a perfect excuse for me to get them out of the house, his teeth will rot out of his head if he’s not careful.”

The genuine smile that Dr. Watts had on his face was matched by the Tearing up Blond boy across from him, pulling the indignant and proud man into a tight hug. Which of course the mustached man tried to balk away from, but eventually pat the young Arc on the back. “Thank you, sir! I won’t let you down!”

There was an embarrassed tone to the older man’s words when he spoke. “Right, of course, enough of this then. You’d better not, I’d be horribly disappointed.”

Jaune let him go, wiping the corners of his eyes with that big goofy grin he was known for back at Beacon, finally after weeks, feeling like himself again. 

He supposed that he had Amber and Pale to thank for that, didn’t he?

“And before you go, I have some records that need to be taken to the archive. Entrance forms, I’m too busy for it and you have nothing better to do, clearly. So take them for me after your evening on the town tonight, will you?” Watts motioned to a box of folders and papers that looked like a fire hazard waiting to happen.

“Of course, Arthur.” Jaune beamed taking the box, though this time Watts didn’t correct him, just letting the boy go and be on his way.

“I see what Ironwood means with that one,” Pietro spoke up, once the doors closed and Jaune was gone.

“I suppose I do too, I just wish he’d show some respect every now and then.”

“Oh and you’re one to talk, right?” Pietro’s laughing could be heard in every room of the building, a warm happy sound that made everyone smile. He wasn’t the lead because he was the smartest, even if that may be true too. Leaders are people who move their team forward, not just tell them what to do.

A lesson Jaune felt in his soul. Something that he’d make sure to implement, he wanted to be like Ironwood, Clover, Pietro. He wanted to be a leader.

_____________________________________________________________

Jaune couldn’t help but find a skip in his step, for as dark as the world up until now had seemed, his effort had all seemed for the better. He wasn’t beyond the monster of his past but he was in a place where that didn’t matter, the ghosts of buildings he lived in didn’t follow him across this frozen tundra. 

He was in a home that slept soundly without the echoing footsteps of the dead to wander its lit, inviting halls.

The Young arc had actually made another stop before heading back to his dorm, see he knew that Pale was going to want to make food, but he figured that he’d treat her and get her favourite take out, some Menagerie cuisine, sweet and sour chicken with chicken fried rice. Of course, her favourite part was the side of almond guy ding that was large enough to be a full meal in and of itself. She always saved half for the morning after, saying it was even better a day old and microwaved. 

Of course, that wasn’t all, Watts had given him the idea of getting her chocolates, but he decided maybe he should get her some flowers too, not a bundle or bouquet, but a small batch of five red tulips and four lilies at the corners and a big white and mauve carnation in the center. The kindly old lady said it represented love, he was pretty sure that was roses but he didn’t know enough about flowers or writing to dispute that.

With flowers, chocolate and food it added a little extra to his mood, excited to see her reaction to all of it.

Getting to the door of his room, he waited outside, awkwardly standing in the hallway, nerves eating at the edges of his gut. Putting the flowers under his arm he put his hand against the scanner, feeling the tinge of dust linger against his palm. Watts had explained the process to him once, the dust would react to the handprint it remembered and would communicate with the computer inside to unlock the door. He heard the latch click and turning the door handle it was easy to push right in.

“Jaune?” The words sung like a pleasant lullaby. Pale’s voice so sweet a siren’s call that it lulled him into the room forgetting he was supposed to be hiding his surprise. “Wait! I have something for you, stay out for one second!”

“Ope!” He stumbled and stepped back, staying in the doorway and keeping the metal slab between the two of them so he couldn’t see her ‘gift’. “I actually got something for you too.”

“You did?” Her voice was surprised, no rather shocked, not like she wasn’t expecting it, but like she would have been happy even if he hadn’t. 

“I did.” He confirmed with a little sing-song tune to his words. “You said you were thinking about making dinner for date night, but I decided you deserve a little treat and got some take out.”

“Jaune.” Her voice was serious. His brow furrowed, was she mad at him? “Jaune you didn’t. Tell me you didn’t go get me Menagerie take out.”

“I-I did… Are… did you already make food?” It was so early though.

“Jaune, come in here.”

Rounding the door, the inexperienced leader was met with the cutest sight he’d ever laid eyes on. Pale had her hair pinned up into a tight ponytail, hair curled up into a half loop, she still had on most of her makeup, eyeliner, lipstick, but it was minimal. A very natural look for her with only small additions. She had on a very loose crop top, simple gray that was only a modicum shade darker than her pale while skin, showing off that sexy curve inward of her midriff, proud of her slim figure in delicious contrast to her wide hips and plump chest. A design of a cartoon bunny Jaune was very familiar with on the chest of her cut-up top.

Following down the lines of her luscious bombshell body she wore tight Yoga pants that clung to the perfect ass, they had breathing mech on her thighs that let a little of that creamy white flesh peek out past the black fabric. 

Besides that, she was the cutest, sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on, in her hands were a bundle of flowers and a takeout box from the exact same restaurant he’d gone to. Her flowers a mix of Roses and Orchids, both of which Jaune recognized to be love flowers, he felt pretty dumb with Lilies. 

“Pale, you didn’t.” He looked dumbfounded at her, both of them smiling, then snickering, then breaking out into full belly laughs and doubling over. Jaune leaned back with tears in his eyes as Pale stumbled closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I knew roses were better!” He shook his head between fits of giggles.

“You are the cutest boy in the whole world.” Her lips pressed against his, just a soft little kiss but it made Jaune’s day shine like sun rays. She took the flowers from his hands and gave them a sniff, smiling a sweet colourful smile, eyes dreamily looking from the gift to him. “No one’s ever gotten me flowers before.”

“I’m more surprised you got me flowers, those are for me right?” Jaune shook his head, letting the door close behind him and stepping into the dorm room. When she nodded and handed them to him he understood why girls liked getting them so much, it felt so thoughtful, there was something about seeing something beautiful, giving them to someone beautiful. He felt his face was hot but didn’t care, he wondered why it was so weird to get boys flowers? Jaune would have to get her more, she deserved more than just the few he’d gotten her.

Pale just couldn’t keep herself away, looking between the flowers, then kissing his cheek, putting them in a vase and pulling him in for a hug, he could barely get the plates out with her clinging to him so tightly. Holding her body against his and hugging him with all of her might. “You are just the sweetest most wonderful man, Jaune Arc.”

“Pale.” He muttered embarrassed by her flattery. “You do realize you did the same for me, and first too.” His words fell on deaf ears as pale just grabbed him and held him tight, pressing her chest into his back and kissing his cheek and neck with feverish pecking lips. 

“I could just eat you up!” Biting onto his ear and electing a little yelp of surprise, but also some throaty groan that Jaune hadn't been expecting. A small pur coming from her throat like she was pleased by that revelation. Only for both their stomachs to groan in annoyance at not being full, at practically the same time. 

“Well maybe we should eat first, then I can take you for a taste test?” While Pale teased him he just leaned back into her embrace, head against her shoulder and face towards the ceiling. Hard to imagine there was ever a time he thought she might have nefarious intentions for him. 

“You’re amazing.” He mused idly, and arm reaching back and touching the softness of her cheek. A little swell of emotion hitting him hard in the gut, the sudden lurch of love and goodness so unexpected he actually felt little tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. 

It felt so good to have someone touch him, to have someone love him. He wasn’t touch starved with Amber in his life, obviously, but the world had been so dark for so long, now he was surrounded by love and respect. How had he lived without this, how had he survived without this for so long?

“I have someone worth being amazing too.” Her lips pressed against his cheek, a soft press that left a perfect imprint of her lipstick on his skin. “But now I’m hungry so you can have love after I’m full.”

Peel back from him and reaching over his shoulder to grab at the food he’d gotten for her, her chest pressing against his face. A blissful smothering that made Jaune fairly sure there had to be a god, and god was good.

They didn’t even bother moving to a table, instead opting to sit in the general room on the couch. Jaune marvelled again at the size of the rooms compared to Beacon, Each student at Beacon had to share a single room barely large enough for a single student let alone four. Meanwhile, each student had a hole in the wall bunk bed, sure, but they had a stove, a minifridge, a dining table, a couch and thanks to Pale bringing one from her home, they also had a flat-screen TV. They had an actual large common area that had enough room for them to actually breathe without tickling the person across from them.

Pale let Jaune sit down first, taking the space right next to him but laying across his lap with her head on their armrest, her plate on her stomach and his on her chest. What a wonderful table. She seemed more than pleased to be so close even if the positions were a little awkward. She just liked the physical affection of laying across her boyfriend.

“So what are we watching?” He asked, putting a forkful of rice into his mouth.

“It’s a musical about an old Atlas politician, it’s like a hip-hop rap musical thought,” Pale explained, indicating to the posing man standing on top of a star. “The guy who wrote it plays the main character.”

“There are rap musicals?” 

“Well.. like yes, but no? Just watch it, you’ll see.” Pale had been bugging him that he hadn’t seen this one, apparently, it was a masterpiece or something but Jaune wasn’t one for musicals let alone political rap battle musicals. Even if their side of the room was covered head to toe in musical posters, everything from Grease to cabaret to Shrek the musical to rocky horror. It was wild, like seeing a boat passing in a fog and seeing fish with poles pulling people from the water, wondering what life is like in that weird strange world. 

“Have you ever thought about trying out for a musical?” Jaune offered, listening to the introduction but not following it in the slightest, why was everyone just singing about how they knew this dude?

“Jaune there are two types of women in plays with big tits, the maid and Jessica rabbit.” 

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a Jessica Rabbit outfit.” He took another mouthful but couldn’t help letting that mental image filter into his mind, seeing her bust barely held together by that slim red dress, her hips bursting out the seams, her long sexy legs slipping through the slit up the side.

“If you’re serious I could order one, that would actually be really fun.” Her tone was playful, teasing, but the way she nuzzled her head into his leg. Well, something was reacting to it in a less than playful manner.

His pants got tight and he tried to adjust but it was so hard to find a way that his growing erection didn’t poke into her head. Pale was snickering, teasing him still about the idea of dressing up in a red dress. “I could dye my hair if you like red more than white.”

Which was very ironic because his face was quickly turning a bright beat red. Her smile turned into a curious expression and her head turned from the Tv to him. “Jaune?”

“I uhh- Pale, that’s-” Avoiding her gaze he tried to adjust again but now she was pressing her weight down onto him. Keeping him from moving too much.

“Seems like you really enjoy musicals.” Her voice a teasing low tone, breathy. Drawing out her R’s with a rattle to her breath, she put her plate on a side table, putting a hand under his chin to get him to look down at her even if his eyes darted to the side.

“I uh… Well, I just thought you’d look good in a red dress.” 

“So this is for me then?” a drolling purr echoed over her lips, shifting her weight until she was laying on her stomach, her breast squished against his thigh. Doing something that surprised Jaune as much as he loved it, pushing her cheek against the bulge growing his in his pants and feeling it throb against her touch. “It’s so big~ Much hurt so badly trapped in these tight pants, poor little guy~”

“P-pale.” Jaune stammered, obviously flustered by the whole ordeal, honestly, he just wanted her to stop bringing attention to it, it was awkward enough without her rubbing in his… well literally her face, but metaphorically hers. 

“Baby~” Lifting herself up by her arms so that she wasn’t just laying down on his erect anymore. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, listen, it’s perfectly natural.”

The most cliche line in the book, he gave her a sarcastic ‘of course’ look. Red still clinging to the crest of his cheeks. She leaned in and kissed him, it was a soft little peck but it was filled with reassuring love. “I uh.. Didn’t mind it, just.. Sorry, give it a second and it’ll go away.”

Pale just raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a smirk. “And let that go to waste? I’m just happy you find me sexy, I love feeling you hard, pressed up against me~” A shiver ran up Jaune’s spine, his cock twitching in his pants, raging at him to push her down against the couch and do what every cell in his late teen body was screaming at him to do. “How about I help you with this, and then we finish the movie?”

“I’ve never-”

“Never?” She interrupted him. “Not even let another girl touch this big, thick, juicy~” She left her sentence hanging in the air. “You’re so cruel denying girls this beautiful toy.”

She lowered herself back down so that she was nuzzling against him. Jaune let out a little gasp, her face felt so good against them, even through the fabric of his pants. “You- Pale, You don’t have to do that, it’s fine, really.”

“Jaune.” She looked at him very seriously, her face pressed against the bulge in his pants with an annoyed and level gaze. “I’m not going this because you’re pressuring me, or I feel obligated, I’m going this because you are very, very attractive. I’ve wanted to for days now, and this was a perfect opportunity. Now are you going to let me go back to being sexy, or would you like me to draw up a graph and explain it further?” 

There was a disconnect in his brain that was slowly starting to mend itself, a woman being interested in him and wanting to sleep with him? That was a logic that didn’t seem to follow up, it was like there was this unspoken rule that sex was something for him and for her to suffer through. Not just Pale in general, but there was always this idea media pressed that men always wanted sex and women never did, why had he believed that? It was obviously always played for laughs and was obviously not true, but still, he felt like he was being a good boyfriend by avoiding the subject.

“I’m an idiot, and you’re so good to me.” He muttered under his breath.

“Yes, and yes. But you’re my beautiful, sexy idiot, and I’m going to make you feel so good, you see god.” Rising up to give him another quick peck she readjusted to slink down to the floor. Her yoga pants stretched out, the fabric becoming sheer and showing her paper white skin under it. She wasn’t on her knees but rather was squatting down, and turning to the side with her elbow over his thigh and pressed into the couch. 

Her hands pressed against his abs, feeling the more defined muscle on him now, biting into her lip and rolling up the hem of his shirt, leaning forward to press her lips against his exposed skin, red lipstick marks pressed against his skin and over the hard muscle of his abdominals. Jaune let out a hiss between his teeth, why did every part of her feel so good? It was impossible to hold back the little sounds of teasing pleasure that jolted him with everything she did to him.

“Pale~” His voice was a gasping moan, feeling his pants get a little looser when she undid the top button and pulled down on his zipper. 

“I love the way you moan for me, keep going, my sweet boy. Let me see how good you feel~” He made sure to hook his thumbs into his waistband even as she grabbed onto his belt and pulled down to wiggle it under his lifted butt. “First let me get our friend out to play.”

Finally, the root of his length came into view, Jaune liked to keep it neat, smooth and clean and Pale couldn’t help but suck in air seeing just how thick he was. She felt it through his pants and knew it was large, she couldn’t be sure but she thought perhaps it was between seven and eight inches, larger than three of her fingers wide too.

Honestly, she was a little disappointed at that, she had almost hoped he was on the smaller side, 5 or less, something she could kiss and tease, comfort him and boost his confidence about. It was hard to treat someone with a big cock like a cute wonderful boy. It was hard to keep the composure needed for that when a cock like his inside her.

Which was a fear only compounded by the meaty thwack of it hitting her chin, flicking the hair out of the front of her face and looming over her with a dangerous shadow plastered against her features. Eight inches was being conservative, he must have been then, maybe larger, it rivalled her forearm for god's sake. Her mouth hung open and Jaune could see her pupils dilate, her mouth-watering as she took in the entirety of his meat.

“I am a lucky, lucky girl.” She breathed with a sigh of reverence. 

“It’s not bad then?” Jaune let a little of that nervousness creep into his voice, even if it was unintentional, he, like every man was always unsure, he knew it was big but there were always little imperfections he could see, maybe his head was shaped strangely. Maybe it was supposed to be curved or had too much curve, there was always some way of looking at it that made him worried the first girl who saw it would look at him with disgust. 

Pale just looked at him like he made the ground she walked on, her eyes were so full of lust and desire, love and reverence that Jaune couldn’t help feel his ego go up a size or two. Alone with the swelling of his cock, which twitched and danced at each sultry breath mere inches from her face. Hot steaming gusts and drool-filled air wafting over his hard, throbbing girth. “It’s amazing, my jaw is going to hurt but your cock is beautiful, so strong, manly.”

She emphasized the point by biting into her lower lip, pushing her nose into the base so that she could feel the weight of that beautiful cock on her face. Feel it bend a little and thrum with the mighty heartbeat pumping virile blood in constant ebbing waves.

To even consider that such a beautiful woman was worshiping his cock. Face pressed against it, rubbing it with the soft flat of her palm, bringing her other hand up to cup and stroke the sensitive balls that dangled low between his legs. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever consider someone who looked like Pale, someone that made a supermodel look plain, could even look at him the way she was. Eyes dreamily lavishing his cock in their dark desperate desires.

“Gods you’re so pretty right now.” He murmured, teeth just nipping at the edge of his lip. He felt her shaky breath against his length, obviously loving the verbal affection. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I’m going to bring you flowers and chocolates every fucking day.”

She pressed her lips to the base of his cock. “Jaune, you are insane.” She chided, kissing up the length as she spoke to him, getting closer and closer to the tip. “The fact you aren’t just stopping with ‘what did I do to deserve you?’ is why you’re so much better than other men. You aren’t just going to sit back and-” kissing the tip and letting him feel the soft plush mounds of her lips. “Rest because you got the girl, you make me feel like a queen, you treat me so well~ I just want to return the favour.”

“You’re handsome” Kiss~. “You have an amazing, sexy body” Followed up by a wet sloppy kiss, her tongue sliding out to run down his length. “You’re kind, and you make me loved.” Kissing against his base with her tongue lavishing the idea of his balls, just teasing the idea of gargling that heavy sack. “You actually care about my interests.”

Her tongue ran up his length, outstretched so that she ran its entire length from base to tip with her lips closing around the head to suckle against it before popping off with a wet smacking noise. “Now to mention you have a cock that will make me rediscover what a gag reflex is.”

“Rediscover?”

“I don’t.” She stopped herself and amended the statement. “I didn’t think I had a gag reflex, but this beautiful rod-” She wiggled it back and forth in her grip. “Is making me think otherwise.”

“That’s not your problem though~.” She let out a haughty breath against the underside of his head with her words. “You just need to sit back and enjoy, tell Mommy how good she can make you feel~”

Momm-? “Gh-Ah!” Jaune sucked in air feeling the warmth of Pale’s mouth envelop his cock. Taking just his head at first, letting him feel the parting of her plush lips, her tongue over his member, grazing the ridge of his crown and lavishing it with the most affectionate, wet kiss she could muster. 

She lowered inch by inch, raising only enough that she could work his shaft with her tongue before pushing down just a little farther. Jaune could feel every movement of her tongue, every groove of the mouth sliding over his throbbing length. She got down to the halfway point, feeling his length already starting to feel it push against the entrance of her throat. True to her word she didn’t even flinch, no gag reflex to even make her hesitate taking it deeper. Her eyes looked up to his, beautiful lavender irises blown out and filled with dripping affection.

This was probably the closest that someone could get to having their pupils turn into hearts.

The movie playing in the background became a static sound as she worked, neither paying attention to it anymore while she pumped her head back and forth, slowly methodically stroking her lips and tongue. One of her hands held his base steady while the other stroked up and down the slick length, working opposite her mouth so that they impacted lightly against each other every time she went down to push the head of his cock against the bend of her throat.

Then something weird happened, some song in the background must have gotten wormed in her brain because while she was pulling back just to the edge until only the tip was left, but she must have known the chorus because he pulled off, still holding onto his cock “Rise up! If they te-”

She paused, realizing she was using his dong like a microphone, her eyes trailed up to his mystified face. Both stared at each other with a new fresh blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Gods, you are the most beautiful person in the world.” His murmured amazement which only made her preen inwardly, even more, biting her lip and nuzzling into his length again.

“You’re so amazing, baby.” She couldn’t help but laugh, fits of little giggles coming out even as she leaned her face against his length, kissing it with loving adoration. Looking up at him with love-filled eyes, just taking him in and with enraptured bliss, obsessed with him. 

He bent forward, kissing her forehead, planting his lips in a soft kiss against her paperwhite skin, holding there with his hands on either side of her face. She nuzzled against him, moving up to kiss the underside of his chin, hard to properly kiss from this position but the intention was just as sweet.

Both of them taking the time to let their giggles stop, both just happy to spend time together.

Jaune was marvelled, something strange and happy in his gut making him feel so at peace. It was the realization that this wasn’t just physical, they could be silly even in their passion, open up to each other, and there was no judgment, only fun, love.

His lover went back to her work, pushing down his length and lavishing his pole with all of her affection. Her red lipstick smearing against the length of his shaft, marking the line she intended to stuck into her gullet.

Her tongue worked over the length of him, still stuffing her mouth with pounds of sultry fat cock meat, Pushing down until Jaune could feel it bending down the back of her throat. The top of her tongue ran along the underside of his crown, slathering the powerful cum vein that ran along the bottom with the backside of its smooth slick surface. Her lips rolled over him in a slow squirming motion, making sweet passionate love to the cock threatening to stuff her throat with its thick virile glory.

Pale pulled back, drawing her lips and sucking hard when she did. Slurping every drop of pre and spit, sucking as hard as she could until she was at the tip. She pumped her wrist, rolling it in small stroking circles to smear the slick dribble of drool over the length of cock she hadn’t taken into her hot, slick mouth. 

His toes curled, eyes shutting hard when she spit all that collected saliva onto his length, diving past the rigid shaft of thrumming cock meat, and pressing her nose against the start of his heavy churching sack. Sucking one of those heavy balls into her mouth. Jaune gasped, air stuttering at the edge of his lungs, all of the oxygen pushed out of his lungs from the jolting electric pleasure.

It was hard to look down at her and not think she was the most beautiful woman in the world, spit and pre-cum spilling down her chin onto her perfect tits, mascara running only slightly with bright red lipstick smeared over her chin and cheeks.

“Oh fu-!” Jaune let out a rumbling groan of pleasure, bucking his hips upwards into her stroking hand, pushing his pelvis into her face just a little harder. Pale felt his hand weave through the hair on the back of her head, holding her close with instinctual lust. A low moan of approval from her makes his cock twitch in her hand, their bodies so entwined in the pleasures they could give each other, that rumbling moan deep in his core, every breath from his nose a warm lingering lust that cling to the damp meat of his shaft.

Pale was amazed, she couldn’t even fit the whole ball into her mouth, suckling on a little more than half, he was so swollen, so needy. She’d been teasing him relentlessly for days, even letting Amber in on her plan and enlisting her help in making Jaune as impossibly horny as the two girls could manage. Thinking back on it, maybe Amber got Harpy to help too with how little the punk had been wearing recently.

She pulled off with a succulent pop, drawing back to the magnificent pillar of cockmeat, eyes looking at it like an old friend. Now she angled it down towards the entrance of her maw and pushed forward, renewing her vigour at the taste of that savoury, salty precum on her tongue, letting her rolling deep groan of satisfaction echo through his length, his pelvis.

Starting at the same point she left off, taking it back at the start of her throat and forgoing working with her tongue just to increase the suction, pressing it against the underside of his fuck meat truncheon. She even took her hands off of him, drawing them up his body feeling the definition of those amazing muscles she loved so much. Feeling the smooth expansive landscape of his chest and abs, feeling the defined line of that pelvis V that lead down to his length. 

But she wanted something else in her hands.

Making sure to keep eye contact with him, she moved the flat of her palms over his forearms, fingers finding the lines of his palms and seeking out the spaces between his fingers that perfectly fit hers. The puzzle pieces sliding together until both of her hands were intertwined with his. 

That shouldn’t have made it feel better, but the way his hands gripped hers, tightening with pleasure, the way it held him in place, the connection between them, it all served to add to that enjoyment she took in sucking his perfect, wonderful cock.

Meanwhile, Jaune was just losing himself to the intense pleasure, breathing heavy with an open mouth, unable to look away from the pleasured expression of his lover. Feeling like he might tip over the edge at any moment, he didn’t want this to end, but endless teasing left him so sensitive and desperate for release.

“P-a-pah~” He mewled breathlessly.

Pale just groaned, loving the sound of his pleasure taking over his voice. She wanted more, wanted to force him over, wanted more than anything in her entire life up to this point to fill him with so much pleasure that he couldn’t hold on and got pushed into the well of euphoria, filling her mouth with the salty reward she wanted so desperately.

She mumbled something around the midsection of his cock, each would sending vibrations through his body. Pushing herself even deeper onto his length, proving that lack of a gag-reflex with all of her might, her esophagus bulging from the effort of stuffing so much fuck meat into her throat. Tears of strain started to well up in her eyes, impossible to take in oxygen as her airway got clogged with the thick slab of stud-cock. Then for the first time in her life, Pale felt her body wretch on the length of steel rod bitch breaking man meat, her throat constricting as her eyes rolled upwards into her skull. 

Even still she didn’t pull back, only pushing herself deeper, ruining her makeup and smearing even more lines of pretty red lipstick over her cheek. Her face was a mess but Jaune thought she looked hotter than anyone he’d ever seen in his life, enraptured by the visage of his girlfriend choking down more and more of her beloved cunt wrecker. 

Pale’s eyes tried to focus, looking up at him with determination, pushing herself until her lips pressed hard against the base of his cock, feeling those churning, swelling balls against her chin. Feeling her nose tickle the hard expanse of his abs. She was vindicated, euphoric, she had taken it all!

She sputtered against his length, precum and spit splattering his pelvis and smearing her pretty face even more. Forced to pull back by instinct and retreating over that monstrous cock.

“Oh fuck! Pale!” His breathless words chasing after her along with that reward she’d worked so hard for.

She didn’t even get halfway off his length. The first pungent sputtering of cum shooting directly into her stomach, she felt it splatter along her throat, so thick and viscous that it clogged instantly. She tried to swallow but it was next to impossible with the cock still stretching her throat open. The next torrent of rope splattering over her mouth, too much for her still stuffed esophagus to take down.

Eyes wide with surprise it forced down, coughing some up so it ran down her chin, coming out the corners of her lips and dripping down onto her exposed cleavage, ruining her skimpy little crop top. Her gaze grew distant, body shuddering in her own orgasm, Jaune completely unaware from the fact she was fingering the mound of her slit through her yoga pants. The third shot was far too much for her unaccustomed body to handle, stomach already feeling full she desperately tried to guzzle it down, instead cum shot out of her nose, feeling like it was flooding up into her brain she was so pumped full of spunk.

Feeling her body give out, she slumped down onto the plush bountiful fat of her ass, popping off of his length with cum spilling out of her mouth, two more heavy ropes of spunk shooting across her face, painting her even more white than her paper adjacent skin already was.

It took her a few more seconds of swallowing, one gulp, two, then finally she was gasping for air, reeling back and trying to wipe the cum from her eyes, her cheeks. “O-oh fu- Wow!” 

“Wow is right.” Jaune practically melted into the couch, his entire body so relaxed, all the tension out of it, he was pretty sure even if the room was on fire he couldn’t have gotten up to run away. 

There was one thing that made him move though, readjusting himself and leaning forward to kiss his girlfriend on her forehead, making sure to find a spot not splattered with spunk. “Alright, your turn to sit back and let me rock your world.”

Pale peek at him from a squinted eye, still trying to clean her face of the messy gift he’d given her. She found a napkin they’d set aside and wiped off whatever she couldn’t scoop into her mouth and even if her face did look like a makeup smear, she smiled up at him and his heart skipped a beat. “Oh, baby, that’s so sweet of you. Really though I’m more than happy to just get my sweet boy off and finish our movie.”

Jaune looked back to see the credit rolling and almost done at that. He blinked and started to question how much time had passed, it felt like seconds but they did say time flew. 

“I might not have much experience but I do really want to make you feel good too, You can teach me how to eat you out.” He offered, trying to readjust and let her take his spot on the couch but her slick hands on his thighs pressing him down stopped him from getting up. 

“You really don’t have to worry baby, I came, trust me it was- wow- yeah. My legs still don’t have feeling.” She took in a breath, managing to get to her knees and crawl back onto the couch, onto his lap and settled her magnificent ass onto his knees. “I really like getting you off, I love it, it’s the thing that makes me all tingly. I could suck that beautiful cock of yours for hours and I’d cum every time you do, baby.” 

“I don’t… I think I have an issue with not returning the favour…” Jaune felt conflicted, on one hand, he had a girl sitting on his lap straight up telling him that she got off on servicing him, that she came just from blowing him. And on the other, he hated the idea of not making her feel good too. 

Pale gave him a sweet smile, looking so touched by his words. “I’ll let you eat me out some other time, but really, I don’t need it, I’d rather just make you feel good. I love seeing you feel good, I guess you could say it’s like a fetish.” She leaned into his ear, pressing her chest against him to really emphasize the point. “I got so wet sucking that big, fat cock. I practically came from your hands in my hair, imagining you using my throat to pleasure yourself. I could feel it building, taking control and pleasuring you. Nothing would please me more than tying you up and making you cum over and over and over again.”

Jaune shuddered, feeling his cock get erect against that perfect yoga pants-covered ass. Ready for round two and to let her make good on all those promises. He was getting an idea of who Amelia Pale was, who this wonderful, sexy woman on his lap truly was on the inside. 

She was kind, someone who was happiest when she was helping other people, the kindest soul who just enjoyed making other people happy. She made her own worth by how useful she was to others, she was the best kind of person, one who would take all the energy you gave her and change the world with it. He was in awe of her, she was amazing like that, someone who could truly be defined as ‘good’. 

Not to mention she was kinky, not afraid of who she was. Maybe there were anxieties around others, but when she was with him, there was no fear in her heart, she was so unabashedly herself. Jaune couldn’t help but looking up to her. Beautiful inside and out, the perfect ice princess. 

Somewhere in the back of his mind compared her to Weiss. He found Weiss lacking in every regard, how had he ever thought it was fair to lump them into the same boat? 

“Okay, then you’ll have to let me get you off, for if nothing else, my ego.” He leaned in and pulled her close, cuddling up to the wonderful woman on top of him. Falling ever deeper in love with her every passing second. He was entirely hers now, and really there was nothing wrong with that.

“Deal.” She whispered, feeling herself slowly start to drift, the exhaustion of her orgasm and the peace of being cuddled up next to him finally taking its toll on her. 

Luckily they managed to clean up and spray some fresh scent dust into the air to cover up the unmistakable scent of sex before Amber and Harpy got home. But they didn’t have time to watch the movie before they got home and got interrupted by the pair coming back blaring music and half deaf screaming about how good the concert was.

Jaune figured they were none-the-wiser but Pale had to reluctantly give all the details to Amber when the incessant questions became too much. 

Still it was a good date, and he was looking forward to the next one.  
____________________________________________________________

Maybe it was strange to even on his day off, Amber and Harpy playing some side scroller fighting game, Pale humming a tune and practicing sewing. That Jaune would be working on his notes, looking over his textbooks and looking at the files on recent military operations against the Grimm. 

Though he had to admit, it was becoming a hobby of his to look into these, practice them in his head. He didn’t have many hobbies, maybe he should look into that.

Still he put away the file he was looking at and reached over to the boxes of files and folders, all meticulously organized by the egg heads in the military. Though his attention was caught by the box of files he’d should have delivered for Watts. Entrance forms. 

Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to scan through. They were sectioned off into accepted and rejected. He hummed and Hawed, not really paying attention to them but looking at the rejected section to see why some had been turned away. 

When Clover explained it, it was obvious that Atlas needed warm bodies, so it felt strange to have some people be turned away from the program. ‘Dangerous, criminal’. ‘Dangerous, possible spy’. ‘Liability, no aura.’ He blinked looking them over. It seemed that mostly people only get rejected if they were of utterly no use, common people with no training and no aura who dropped out when they were informed they would just become regular soldiers and not hunters and huntresses.

Or if they were a danger to those around them.

They were marked by their ‘designation’ or the name they preferred being called. So Amelia Pale would still be called Pale. Most of the rejected ones opted for fake names or titles rather than putting their own name on.

Atomic, Breaker, Crocodile.. Extinction, Fuc- how did that guy think fucknuts was a good- Oh that’s his last name, unfortunate. Harmigedon… He was about to jump to the I’s when…

Harpy…

He pulled out one of the files, a rejected submission from an Ariel T. that used the preferred name Harpy. Build.. Accurate, blue eyes, Purple dyed hair… so not accurate, but she had dyed her hair recently soo…

‘Danger. Criminal. Juvenile detention center.’

Jaune tried not to make a face but his heart was beating fast. There was a sense of dread welling up in his gut. He needed to check this. That couldn’t be right, he checked the accepted students and found another one for Harpy, this one had all the same information but her measurements were slightly off, one inch taller, shoulders slightly wider. 

Just enough it wouldn’t show as weird. She used a different name too. Harriet B. Like the Ace op…. Jaune felt a lump form in his throat. He checked the measurements for Harriet, they matched the accepted Harpy’s paperwork. Her address was different from the rejected application, she even put down a school… one that had been overrun by Grimm so they wouldn’t be able to check it…

He tapped his foot with nerves creeping into his body. The rest of the room disappearing to the clouded mildewed darkness behind him.

Ariel.. Or Harpy… she faked her transcripts.


End file.
